Lovegood
by Tea Party of Madness
Summary: Hermione has been acting... out of the ordinary. Luna is determined to get to the bottom of it. After being pulled into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and seeing a peculiar exchange between Hermione and Malfoy, Luna is convinced that Hermione likes him a bit more than everyone gives her credit for. And thus, Operation Dramione is born.
1. Chapter 1 - Nargle Hunting

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Harry Potter**

**A/N: I should be updating my other story soon, but I decided to enter The Eclectic Bookworm's Because We All Love Luna -A Romantic Challenge to spice things up a bit. I love Neville/Luna so much. Thank you so much, BethyQuake for being my beta reader! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Hurry up Neville! It's getting away!" Luna Lovegood called to her best friend who was just barely keeping up with her adrenaline induced sprint. The pair were hunting for nargles. "I-I'm t-trying to L-Luna," Neville replied in between gasps. The blonde Ravenclaw sped up a bit grabbing the Gryffindor's hand to make sure he kept up. She could see the creature, finally she could be able to ask it to leave her and her things alone. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were clutching butterfly catching nets, the latter nearly close enough to catch the blasted thing. Luna had one more burst of speed before swinging her net, catching target. Neville halted in awe of his best friend's look of victory when there was nothing in her net. "I caught it! " Luna yelled causing Neville to jump and run into a nearby Huffluff. After apologizing profusely, the Gryffindor turned to his best friend questioningly. "What do you mean? There is nothing in the net," He questioned with his usual look of confusion. "I have caught a nargle! You just can't see it. That's why, you can laugh about this, people used to think that they weren't real," Luna replied indignantly. He decided it was no use arguing with her, so he just shrugged. The dreamy girl muttered a immobulus under her breath to paralyze the contents of her net and started walking away with Neville in tow.

Luna, now in her dorm, was confronting the still stunned nargle about stealing her things. "I hope you like the mistletoe I have put in there for you I understand that this is not the proper habitat for you, but it's the best I can do for right now. I have a few questions for you though, I hope you don't mind my asking them. Why have you been taking my belongings? Have I done anything to you to cause this behavior from you? Do you have a reason for making my things disappear? Is there anything I can do to make you stop?" She questioned. A few passing Ravenclaws were looking at her strangely, but Luna was focused on questioning the creature in her butterfly net. The Ravenclaw normally would put up with the nargles' mischievous behavior, but at the moment she was trying to figure out what was going on with Hermione and really didn't have time to go searching for her sneakers everyday. She, of course, could go barefoot, but the blonde had been barefoot for a few days now and just this morning did Neville deliver her shoes for her. That was how the nargle hunt started.

_Luna heard a knock on the door leading to the Ravenclaw common room. The blonde jumped up from the armchair she had been sitting on, setting down the latest issue of _The Quibbler _that she had been reading, and opened the door. Neville Longbottom was standing before her with her sneakers that she had lost a few days before. _

_"Hello there, Neville! I see you have found my shoes, the nargles seem to be very fond of them. Thank you for finding them," She said in her usual dreamy, smooth voice. _

_"My pleasure, Luna. I found them in the library next t__o that book Hermione is always reading. I can't remember what it's called, though," He replied smiling at her look of attentiveness, usually nobody listens to everything he has to say. Mostly people would tune him out half-way through what he was saying, but Luna would always listen no matter how long he would continue to ramble on._

_ "I've just had an idea! I'm going to find this nargle that insists on stealing my shoes and hiding them for me! Then I will ask it why it will no longer leave my things alone." Luna said suddenly, breaking Neville from his reverie._

_ "I'll help you! If you don't mind, of course," Neville said, adding the last part quickly, not wanting to intrude. _

_"It would be a pleasure to have you to accompany me on my nargle hunt. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to put these on so the nargles don't steal them again," Luna said finally taking her shoes and starting for her dorm._

_Neville and Luna had been checking every trace of mistletoe in Hogwarts, but they hadn't found any sign of nargles. _

_"Have I forgotten to remove my charm?" Luna asked reaching for where the necklace usually is, alas she had remembered to take it off._

_ "Maybe we should stop for now and have some lunch?" Neville suggested since the girl in front of him hadn't had anything since breakfast._

_ "Okay, but when I finish I'm going to visit the Thestrals," She said dreamily and skipped off towards the Great Hall with Neville beside her._

_Luna threw a bird to Tenebrus and watched him and his siblings stretched their wings and just existed. "Hello Tenebrus, lovely weather we're having today," She greeted the creature. She always found watching the Hogwarts herd of Thestrals calming, she had always thought of the Thestrals as her friends, since she didn't really have any the first times she'd come to visit them. She came to the Forbidden Forest whenever she wanted to clear her head or not focus on anything in the world around her. She also came when she wanted friends, of course she had Neville, Harry and the gang now, but it wasn't always so simple. The Thestrals were like her own little secret because, to her knowledge, only Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter could see them. She sat down and continued watching the Thestrals till dinner time._

_The next day, Neville and Luna continued their quest for the nargle. They searched for hours until, finally Luna cried out with delight as she saw a nargle. Neville, who had believed that they were just on a wild goose chase, was surprised as the Ravenclaw started after the mythical creature in a sprint. He chased after her, being at least three feet behind her. Every now and then she'd shout back to him to catch up, but the Gryffindor was at his peak speed and couldn't help, but start slowing down. Finally, Luna caught the sneaky creature, much to Neville's confusion._

* * *

Hermione was walking toward the library when she nearly bumped into a blonde Ravenclaw. She immediately started apologizing and then she realized it was Luna Lovegood, that butterbeer cork necklace unmistakable.

"Luna I'm so sorry! I was thinking about this book that I wanted to check out at the library and I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm sorry!" Hermione said quickly.

"It's quite alright, Hermione! I'm sorry for interrupting your thoughts. I was looking for you anyway," Luna assured her.

"Why would you be looking for me?" She asked, now curious.

"Well, you've seemed a bit off lately and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," The Ravenclaw said.

"Oh, well I assure you I am perfectly fine," Hermione lied putting a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes.

"You're lying," The blonde said plainly. She could see wrackspurts around her tongue.

"No, there is nothing to worry about, thank you for your concern, but I'm fine really," Hermione said trying to rush past her.

"No you're not. I know your too polite to tell me you don't want to talk to me, but I can see in your eyes that something's wrong, just tell me what it is and I'll leave you to your thoughts." Luna persisted following the Gryffindor closely. Instead of answering, the older girl pulled the blonde into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"It's just that... I think I-" Hermione started, but faded off. Luna put a hand on her shoulder to say 'it's okay'.

"I think I have a crush on-" Hermione was about to say his name, but was interrupted by Moaning Myrtle.

"Ooh are we telling secrets? I want to join! What were you saying, Hermione?"

"I was saying that this none of your concern, Myrtle," Hermione spat.

"You're no fun! Why can't you tell me? It's not like I have anyone to tell!" Myrtle whined diving back into the toilet.

Myrtle's interruption clamped Hermione's mouth shut again. The brunette couldn't believe she was about to tell Luna about her heart traitorous affections. Suddenly, she heard the door to the bathroom open again. Who could that possibly be? No one comes in here! She saw ever so familiar blonde hair and ferret-like features from behind the door. When Hermione saw his face she saw that his grey eyes were glassy and that tears were running down his face. When he saw the Gryffindor, his eyes bulged. "What are you doing here, mud-" He began, but his voice cracked on the name 'mudblood'. Draco Malfoy was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Draco Malfoy was crying.

**A/N: Okay, I know this didn't have a whole lot of Neville/Luna, but I don't want to get too into that yet. I promise it'll happen soon, but not yet.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Dramione or Drapple?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter if I did Dramione would have been canon**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, read, followed or favorited this story! It really means a lot to me! Thank you BethyQuake for beta reading this story it makes it 100 times better! **

**Updated: This is not an update of the story, I am just editing it so Hermione is more in character. I'm sorry if she is ever OOC, but I'm not perfect and I'm also not J.K. Rowling. I hope you enjoy the rest of my story!**

**And now a message from our sponsor/BetaReader: Hello. I am BethyQuake, Whovian, animal lover and not to mention BetaReader, and I approve Drapple.**

"I could say the same to you, Malfoy," Hermione replied eyes narrowing. "Why _are _you here anyway? This is the _girls' _bathroom," Draco closed the door and leaned on it, arms crossed . His silver eyes found her brown ones, they were still glassy, his eyelashes wet. Hermione shook her head in hopes that she could snap out of it. Luna was watching the two intently. It didn't take a mind reader to see that boy she'd been talking about having a crush on was Malfoy.

"I _thought _that no one would be in here, clearly I was wrong," Draco answered, his emotions no longer showing on his face. "Now answer my question, Granger," He drawled. It took Hermione a few seconds to answer him, she seemed to have gotten herself lost in his presence again.

"I thought the same thing," She replied shaking her head again. "What's wrong?" She pulled herself on the counter, next to the sinks. Luna was formulating a plan to get Hermione and Draco together, she most definitely wouldn't have time for the nargles' obsession with her shoes. She would need Neville's help with this plan. She could hardly wait to tell Neville all about it.

"What is this twenty questions? How would you like me asking _you _about _your_ personal business!" Draco burst, striding over to the sinks and washing his face off so if anyone else came in they wouldn't see that he'd been crying. Now was not the time for him to have to deal with her, he was on the verge of a breakdown and she just had to be there. Why was she here anyway? It's not like she's always there, he should know. Suddenly Myrtle came out from her toilet and floated toward the Slytherin.

"It's okay Drakey, don't let _her _bother you. She just doesn't understand," Myrtle consoled, making a face at Hermione. She tried to put her hand on his back, he flinched and walked right through her. Her face now had an extremely hurt look on it and she dived back into her toilet wailing.

"Did she just call you Drakey? Since when are you so friendly with Myrtle, but seriously, why are you upset?" Hermione asked trying to stifle her giggles, but getting serious at the end.

Draco grimaced at her mirth towards him. He sneered at her and he noticed that she was staring at him intently. He smirked and said, "You like what you see? Most girl's do, Myrtle included," He walked toward her, to which she scooted back till her backside hit the wall. He leaned his head toward her ear and whispered, "Would you like to see more?" He pulled away to see Hermione with a revolted expression.

"In your dreams, Malfoy," Hermione replied her eyes narrowed. She suddenly shivered at how close they were, which went unnoticed by Draco. Looked at his lips and pursed hers, she leaned in a little so their lips were only inches apart and closed her eyes, then she slid off the counter walked past the arrogant blonde who was smirking until she left him hanging. That was his job! He turned around to see her smirking at him. Luna was off in a daydream, no doubt about some invisible creature that only the loony Lovegoods could see. "Good day, _Malfoy,_" Hermione said smirking as she pulled Luna out of the bathroom. He smirked to himself, _She's more Slytherin then I thought._ He strode out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom with a certain bookworm on his mind.

* * *

"Are you sure, Luna? I don't like meddling into other people's business and if you're wrong-" Neville started, to be interrupted by Luna.

"There's no way that I'm wrong. I'm as sure about this as I am in my belief in nargles and the crumple horned snorcack, but if it'll make you feel better, Neville, I'll ask her if my theory is correct," Luna replied.

"Yes, that will make me feel better, but for now, let's continue coming up with ideas to 'help' them get together, the idea of them together has grown on me," Neville admitted sheepishly.

"Of course we are going continue planning our fight against the wrackspurts that are clouding their heads and aren't letting them realize their true feelings, but first things first, we need to come up with a ship name!" Luna replied becoming giddy with excitement.

"A what?" Neville asked confused. He had never heard nor used the term ship other than hearing muggles say it, to which he still didn't know what it meant, let alone come up with a 'ship name'.

"You know a name for the thought of them being paired together! Do you have wrackspurts in your head too?" Luna replied her voice grazing a worried tone towards the end.

"No, I do not have wrackspurts in my head, Luna. How about Drione? Nah, too hard to pronounce," Neville said starting to enjoy Luna's antics about the unnamed thought of Draco and Hermione being together.

"How about Herraco, it isn't very good, but it's hard to come up with these names, especially for these two," She said resting her chin on her hand.

"Other names fit so perfectly, like Draco and an apple, Drapple!" Neville said teasing her.

"Don't be silly, Neville! Draco could never possibly date an apple it's an inanimate object! Are you completely sure that you don't have wrackspurts in your head?" Luna ridiculed, obviously taking pairings very seriously.

"I don't know, I think an apple would be able to handle his extremely prejudice and rude personality," Neville said laughing.

"No, Hermione is a smart girl and would be able to rein him in when he would act like a git with their adorable banter," Luna said defending her ships honor and crossing her arms, clearly taking these pairings very seriously.

"I'm just teasing you, Luna," Neville said still laughing and started to hug the pouting blonde. Luna was about to hug him back when she suddenly got this warm and fuzzy feeling from his touch and that she seemed to fit in his arms. She banished the thought, shaking her head. Neville and her were just friends. JUST. FRIENDS. Nothing more nothing less, right? After what seemed like 30 seconds, but was really 5 minutes, Neville pulled away from the hug hoping that his blush had subsided.

"How about Dramione? That's cute and it's easy to pronounce and spell!" Luna exclaimed excited to see her male counterpart's reaction to her genius.

"That's perfect, Luna! Dramione is perfect! I love it!" Neville said smiling giddily.

"What's Dramione?" Asked a voice that was a oh-so-familiar from behind them. They quickly turned around to see..

**A/N: Cliffy! I don't get do much of these in my other story so I'm going to try to do them in this one. I know, I'm evil. I love writing this story so much! It's so fun! Reviews?**

**~ Tea Party of Madness**


	3. Chapter 3 - Playful Banter

**Disclaimer: Do I look like an extremely popular and wealthy author? No. Could I possibly be J.K. Rowling? No. Do I own Harry Potter? No.**

**A/N: Thank you BethyQuake for BetaReading. Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting or following my story, it's really appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: No spoons were harmed in the making of this fanfiction.**

* * *

"What's Dramione" A familiar voice asked from behind them. Neville and Luna turned to find the bushy-haired brunette Gryffindor princess with a curious look on her face.

"Oh it's the ship name for-" Luna started, before she was cut off by Neville.

"Characters from our story! Yep, Drake and Harmony." Neville added quickly, unsure of what Luna was going to say.

"If her name is Harmony how did you get Dramione and what's this story about?" Hermione inquired, her nosy, bookish personality kicking in.

"Oh, it's about these two students that attend Hogwarts. Drake is a pureblood Slytherin and Harmione is a muggleborn Gryffindor." Neville replied, hoping she wouldn't catch on.

"I thought her name was Harmony?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, uh, yes right. Harmione was the name I originally came up with, but we changed it to Harmony," Neville answered nervously.

"Uh huh, if you changed her name why is the ship name with her original name instead of her new one?" Hermione asked, suspicious.

"Oh, um, I didn't even realize," Neville replied with a nervous smile.

"Is 'Harmony' me?" Hermione asked calm, but sternly.

"Yes," Neville and Luna said in unison, Neville immediately blushing.

"Who's Dr-" Hermione started, but Luna interrupted her.

"Oh, Hermione! I wanted to ask you about that boy you were talking about in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, was that Draco?" Luna asked in her casual dreamy voice.

"Uh, no," Hermione replied blushing.

"I can tell when you lie, Mione," Luna reminded the lioness.

"I'm not lying!" Hermione replied.

"Yes, you are, come on Hermione, we aren't judging you. You can tell us," Luna replied, her dreamy voice becoming serious.

"That is absolute nonsense, Luna. Why on Earth would I like that twitchy little ferret boy. He's a slimy, self-righteous prat and I want nothing to do with him," Hermione protested. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to write that paper for charms, I'll see you two later." Hermione turned on her heel and walked off to the library.

"I don't understand why she won't tell me! She seemed ready to do it in the bathroom! Maybe the wrackspurts are clouding her judgement," Luna huffed, a bit put off at how Hermione didn't trust her.

"Maybe you were wrong and she doesn't really like him," Neville replied, still reluctant to believe that _Hermione Granger _would harbor romantic feelings for Malfoy.

"That's absurd, Neville, of course she does. Who else would she have been talking about? Plus, you should have seen how she looked at him, it was so adorable! She was acting so red," Luna replied. She was staring into space and seemed as if she were off into another world.

"Maybe she's just a bit embarrassed, I mean, they _are _supposed to hate each other," Neville said quickly, touching her arm, unknowingly sending tingles up it.

"I guess you're right, but I wish she would tell me. It's making me a bit maroon how she doesn't trust that I won't judge her, or tell people," Luna replied shivering involuntarily at his touch.

"I'm sure she just is having trouble accepting her feelings, but will at some point," Neville reassured, "So, how are we going to get them together?"

"Well, first we need to get Hermione to admit that she likes Draco," Luna answered.

"How do we do that?" Neville asked looking confused.

"Lead her to believe that he's with someone else," Luna said, picking up her potions textbook.

"What good would that do? Wouldn't that discourage her?" Neville asked, trying to figure out where Luna was coming from.

"It'll make her jealous," Luna said plainly.

Still not understanding, Neville decided that it was stuff a boy couldn't understand and decided to just go with it, Luna is a Ravenclaw after all. "Alright, when do we do it?"

* * *

It had been a week since Hermione caught Neville and Luna and they were ready to put their plan into action. The pair made their way to the Gryffindor table, trying to act nonchalant. Luna, who was skipping to their destination, was confident that her plan would work and they would soon make Hermione spill her guts. The night before they had come up with all the information they thought Hermione could ask. Neville, who was barely able to contain his nervousness, was trying to remember all the information they had come up with, as he never was any good at remembering things. It was times like these where he wished he had his remembrall with him. Time seemed to move in slow motion as they made their way toward Hermione.

Finally, they were sitting across from the Golden Trio. They stayed silent for a while before they heard Malfoy come up in the conversation. "I don't know how he even got on the team in the first place, let alone how he became captain of the Slytherin team!" Ron complained biting into his toast, "I myean he's mot even yat good." Luna's ears perked up a bit as she said, "I heard he's with Daphne Greengrass," Hermione's grip on her spoon tightened, but Neville and Luna didn't notice that someone else's did too. "Oh yeah, I saw them sitting by the lake together," Neville chimed in. "Oh so, Malfoy's got another little bimbo to traipse around with," Ron said bitterly. "It's okay, Won Won. At least you can handle a steady girlfriend and know how to treat women!" Lavender's prissy voice sounded.

"I wouldn't think that Weasley could manage to know what girl is. Let alone how to treat one," The trademark drawl of none other than Draco Malfoy chimed.

"Shove off, Malfoy. If you think that you are more of a gentleman than I am, you're mental," Ron retorted.

"Please, I have more manners in my pinkie than you have in your entire body," Draco drawled.

"I'd like to have a second opinion," Ron objected.

"Fine. Granger who is more of a gentleman? Me or this buffoon," Draco asked, smirking.

"I honestly think you're both gits in your own special way," Hermione retorted, rolling her eyes at the incredulous looks she received from the two boys.

"Mione! You can't possibly think I'm not better than MALFOY?!" Ron asked incredulously.

"I know I should have expected a mudblood to have a lack of recognition in etiquette, but honestly Granger! He's a pig." Draco protested.

"So are you." She replied plainly.

"Prove it," Draco challenged.

"I don't have to explain myself to _you_" Hermione replied glaring and taking a step closer.

"What's wrong, Granger? Can't think of a reason in that pretty little head of yours? Pity." Draco taunted.

"Okay. Are you ready for a big blow to your enormous ego? Good. You can't seem to figure out how to keep a girlfriend, you call people horrid names, you're a bully, a narcissus, you can't let go of childish prejudice, you think that you are better than everyone else, you're a coward, a foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroach, and a Slytherin." She lists without breaking eye contact, eyes full of fire.

He leans in closer to her and whispers, "You say foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach as if it were a bad thing." He pulls back, smirking, and begins to walk away with his group of Slytherins. Hermione was frozen in place for a few seconds before she shook her head and started for the exit, mumbling a quick goodbye under her breath.

* * *

"Do we have to plan something else so soon? We just had a success, didn't we?" Neville groaned banging his head on the table he had conjured in the Room of Requirement. The duo had decided that this would be the best place to arrange their plans.

"Yes, if we don't keep on top of this then we'll never get Hermione to crack," Luna replied.

"How is this going to get her to tell us anything?" Neville asked.

"If she smells anything that is remotely close to Malfoy, then it'll be proof!" Luna explained excitedly.

"You aren't going to be there. How am I suppose to decipher between what is Malfoy and what isn't?" Neville asked, worried that he might mess up her plan.

"You can tell me what she smells afterward," Luna answered cheerily. Neville cringed inwardly. Remembering things was not his forte.

"Er, Luna, I don't think I can do that, I mean isn't it four specific things that people smell? What if I don't remember hers?" Neville worried.

"I believe in you Neville. I think you'll do just fine," Luna reassured him, smiling and taking his hand, to which Neville blushed.

"They really didn't seem to like each other in any way this morning. Hermione seemed to absolutely hate him," Neville pleaded.

"That was just playful banter. Did you see the way she gripped her spoon?" Luna reasoned.

"Fine, I'll do it,"

**A/N: Hello my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm so sorry it's months late. I promise I will try to update faster, but for a while I had writer's block, you know how that goes. Thank you for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4 - Amortentia

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: Hello there! I have a system for uploading these. I hope that it will work, but you never know. The last few systems and schedules haven't lasted very long, so I'm not getting my hopes up. Anyway, in other news, for the past couple of months I have worked on a story with my friend, BethyQuake, and we have decided to upload it in the future. I plan on uploading it when I get back into the swing of things, and if I don't then I'll upload it when I'm near finished with my Hunger Games fic. The story contains OCs, ships, inside jokes that are explained in footnotes, and humor. Long story short, we put each other in Harry Potter. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: BethyQuake declares this story worthy of Her majesty, The Queen of Britannia.**

* * *

Neville stood behind Hermione, waiting for class to start. It was bad enough that he had to worry about the Slytherins getting him into trouble, but now he had to worry about remembering and interpreting what Hermione smells when she volunteers to explain today's potion. Professor Slughorn glided into the room and strode to the front of the class. There were a few steaming cauldrons around him.

"Hello class. This morning I-" Slughorn began before he was cut off by the door opening, letting Harry Potter and Ron Weasley into the room.

"Ah, Harry, my boy, I was beginning to worry," Slughorn said warmly, scrutinizing Ron.

Neville soon tuned out, not really caring much for the exchange. Maybe it'll be simple, like toothpaste, or sugar quills, but what if it was intensely specific?

"Now as I was saying, I prepared some concoctions this morning. Any idea about what these might be?" Slughorn restarted, snapping Neville back to reality. Hermione's hand automatically shot up. Slughorn nodded to her saying, "Yes, miss.."

"Granger, sir. That one there is Veritaserum, it's a truth-telling serum, and that one is terribly tricky to make which is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world. It's rumored to smell differently to each person depending on what attracts them. For example, I smell freshly mown grass, new parchment, and... hair gel," Hermione says, hesitating on the last one. Neville focused really hard on remembering what she just said, mentally chanting them in his head.

"Amortentia doesn't create real love, of course. That's impossible. But it does cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. For that reason, it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room," Slughorn said, quickly putting the lid on the cauldron, noticing a few people eyeing it. "Now, our last potion is a curious little potion. It's name is Felix Felicis, but it is more commonly referred to as" Slughorn began again, as Hermione finished his sentence for him,"Liquid Luck." "Yes, Miss Granger. Liquid Luck. It is particularly tricky to make, disastrous should you get it wrong. One sip and you will find all of your endeavors succeed," Slughorn began yet again. Draco perked up at this. "This is what I offer each of you today. One tiny phial of Liquid Luck to the student who in the hour that remains, manages to brew an acceptable Draught of Living Death. This recipe of which can be found on page 10 of your books. I should point out, however, only one student who manages to brew this potion of sufficient quality can claim this prize. None the less, good luck to you all. Let the brewing commence!" Slughorn finished as students began making their way over to their assigned seats. The tables consisted of Dean, Seamus, and Crabbe, Harry, Ron, and Daphne, a Slytherin girl Neville didn't know, Pansy, and Goyle, Lavendar, Parvati, and Neville then Draco, Blaise, and Hermione. Neville's table was right behind Hermione, so he could hear everything she could.

"Hey Granger, I'll bet I can beat you in getting the Felix Felicis," Draco said.

"I don't think so Malfoy. You've probably rigged it in some way," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.

"Oooh, is Miss Know It All Granger scared?" Draco teased.

"In your dreams, Malfoy," Hermione retorted.

"Don't flatter yourself. The day you show up in my dreams is the day you admit that your attracted to me," Draco said smirking, as she became flustered.

"Wh-what? I knew you were big headed, but this is just ridiculous. Me, _Hermione Granger _attracted to _you, _Draco _Malfoy. _You've _got_ to be joking," Hermione replied, laughing.

"I guess you're right. I'm too good for the likes of you to appreciate," Draco said.

"Yet another reason why you're a downright git," Hermione commented.

"I hardly find that fair," Draco replied.

"Oh, and how so?" Hermione asked, sarcastically.

"You favor Weasley," He said, accusingly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hermione asked, choking.

"You like Weasley. It's pretty obvious," Draco said with what could be bitterness or spite neither Hermione or Neville were sure.

"What are you on about?" Hermione asked.

"Pay attention this time, Granger, I know you fancy the Weasel. It's _painfully_ obvious," Draco repeated.

"I'll have you know Ron and I are only friends, nothing more. Ever," Hermione protested.

"Who do you think you're fooling? I'm a Slytherin, remember?" Draco teased.

"I don't know where you got this stupid idea, but the last time I checked, I fancied someone else," Hermione continued to protest.

"Oh, who is it? Is it Potter? Oh, I know! It's Longbottom isn't it," Draco continued to tease.

"You're a prat, you know that?" Hermione replied.

"No matter, when I get the Felix Felicis I'll know you're secrets," Draco taunted.

Hermione froze in terror, she couldn't let Malfoy get that Felix Felicis. Hermione ignored Draco's attempts at winding her up until the hour was gone and she had created the best Draught of Living Death she thought anyone could. That was... until she saw Draco's. "Mr. Malfoy's is... perfect!" Slughorn announced, "As promised one phial of Felix Felicis," Slughorn gave the Felix Felicis to Malfoy.

Malfoy turned to Hermione, who's hair had gone frizzy. "You're mine now, Granger,"

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry that it's short, I just wanted to finish this chapter. I'll try to make the next one longer. I really want to make chapters longer. It just takes so much time, and not to mention inspiration. Ugh. Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter, bye!**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Aftermath

**A/N: Due to popular demand I have decided to upload Lovegood before The Star-Crossed Hunger Games and I'm going to warn you, the next few chapters are more about Dramione than Nuna, but that'll get on track soon. I would like to thank 007twihunger, Angel's Kiss 09, Danigirl84, Dryingpan FTW, HarryPMerlinLuv, Jeane-Granger, Lady Jacqueline, SeaHorseSilhouette, Somanyproblems, emidow, schleifchen, sweetjendagz, BethyQuake, elexa101, oracle987, The Eclectic Bookworm, and flawsmadebeautiful for following, favoriting, or reviewing on my story. It means so much to me. Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Hermione could only wait for her impending doom that would be brought to her by none other than Draco Malfoy. She waited. When Malfoy didn't say anything she turned to him with an inquisitive look.

"Why haven't you taken the Felix Felicis yet?" She asked.

He laughed. "I have better things to use Felix Felicis for than to find out your secrets," He replied.

"Like what?" She asked, crossing her arms, not fully believing that he had an actual use for the potion in his posession.

"None of your business," He evaded.

"Why so secretive?" Hermione questioned.

"Why so nosy, Granger?" He replied, mockingly, "Did you run out of books to stick your nose in?"

She huffed, a little offended, but too proud to show it. "You know being a git won't get you very far in life," She said indignantly.

"Please, I'm a pureblood," He scoffed, acting as though she'd forgotten. To be frank you'd have to be a complete and utter idiot to forget his lineage.

"Just because you're a pureblood doesn't mean that everything is yours, no matter how much you think it is. Daddy can't get buy you everything," She retorted, smugly.

"Uh, u-um uh," He stuttered in shock. Who knew she'd be bold enough to say what others never did.

She cocked her head and turned her curious brown eyes up to him. "What? Your father will hear about this?" She asked soft and innocently, before picking up her books and walking gracefully out of the classroom. Leaving a shocked and slightly impressed Draco Malfoy behind.

* * *

Neville entered The Room Requirement where a very excited Luna was waiting for him. She jumped up and tackled him with questions.

"What did she say? What did she smell? What happened? Tell me!" She screamed, shaking Neville's shoulder.

"She said it smelled like freshly mown grass, toothpaste, and, get this, hair gel. Isn't that peculiar?" Neville recited. Luna's hands shot to her mouth with force that could knock her off her feet. She proceeded to squeal higher than she ever had in her entire life. "Uh, Luna are you alright?" Neville asked, concerned. Luna popped right back up, a big ball of bouncing energy as she skipped around The Room of Requirement before barreling into and glomping* Neville before sitting on him, contently, showing no sign of moving. Though, every so often she would scream into her hand, startling Neville. "What's got you all _excited_?" Neville asked, confused.

"Hair gel?! _Hair gel_?! Draco Malfoy's hair has been gelled since first year!" **(Or _DA WOMB _according to BethyQuake) **She yelled.

"Oh! So we have proof that she likes Malfoy now?" Neville asked.

"Yes! We finally have the proof, but we just need her to admit it!" Luna yelled excitedly.

"Well, what are we going to do next? She's pretty adamantly denying it," Neville asked.

"We don't need her to admit it to us. She just needs to admit it to herself, which we can't do anything about. That one's on her," Luna replied, still finding it hard to believe that she wouldn't trust her enough to divulge that tiny tidbit of information, "It'll all happen in due time. Plus, I have a plan that _might _push her in the right direction." A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on her face.

* * *

Hermione read silently, scanning the words on the pages of her book. She was in the back corner of the library, curled up in a chair at the furthest table to the right. Moonlight shines from the tall glass window to her left. A boy is sat a few tables away, doing homework. He looked up and noticed the beautiful girl. He watches her a while longer before his quill slips out of his hand. She looks up at him, startled by the noise. He finds himself tongue-tied and unable to explain himself, which was probably better for him in the long run.

"What do _you _want?" She asked, noticing his staring. He sneers at her and looks away, resuming his homework. Every so often, though, he would sneak glances at her. What he didn't notice was that she did the same.

Luna and Neville entered the library and made their way toward Hermione. They sat at her table, coincidentally not blocking her view of the boy. They sat there quietly, waiting for her to look away from her book. After a few moments, she finally looked up from the book, but she wasn't looking at them. Luna followed her gaze to Draco Malfoy himself.

"Who are you looking at, Hermione?" Luna asked softly, snapping Hermione's attention away from Draco.

"Huh?" She asked, her head bolting to face Luna and Neville.

"Who were you staring at?" Luna repeated, careful to keep her voice down.

"Oh, uh, n-no one," Hermione stuttered, becoming flustered.

"You were staring at _him_, weren't you?" Luna asked, smiling knowingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione said.

"You were staring at Draco. Just admit it already. Hair gel makes it pretty obvious," Luna pushed.

"What?" Hermione asked, nervous and surprised.

"Amortentia doesn't lie," Luna replied vaguely.

"How did you know about that?" Hermione asked, not remembering Luna in her potions class.

"I have my sources," Luna said, "You know, you're pretty lucky that Draco had a more important use for that Felix Felicis or you would've never been able to deny it."

"Again, I don't know what you're talking about," She continued to deny.

"Just give it up Hermione, I just saw you look at him in a way I've never seen you look at anyone else," Luna pleaded.

"Fine, you got me," She conceded, "I bloody fancy Draco bloody Malfoy, happy?"

Luna smiled.

"Very."

**A/N: I know it's short. I'm sorry. I want to make these longer, but I thought this was the place to end it. Duhn duhn DUHN. She admits it! Oh my gosh! Lovegood has nearly 530 views! I love everyone who reads this. I love your reviews and I like constructive criticism. I know my story isn't perfect because perfection is an unattainable status. Thanks again for doing what you do and I'll see you in the next one!**


	6. Chapter 6 - King of Dramione

**A/N: Hello! I'm late! I know! I'm almost done with chapter 7! Yay! Enjoy! This Author's Note sucks!**

* * *

"What does it matter now?" Hermione asked, slumping in her seat, dejectedly, "He's with Greengrass. You said it yourselves. I'm not getting on the ice queen's bad side."

"What if I told you they broke up?" Luna asked, guiltily trying to lie herself out of her own lie.

"I'd say I'm not that gullible," Hermione replied.

"What if I told you they were never together?" Luna asked, nervous to see her reaction.

"What if I told you you're mental?" Hermione countered.

"Well, I would say that I'm not as mental as I seem because I know more things about people than anyone seems to. For Merlin's sake, have you ever seen him express any interest towards her?" Luna burst out. She then smirked and said, "Then again, you've never noticed him expressing interest toward you."

"If you think calling me a mudblood and accusing me of fancying Ron, Harry, and Neville all at the same time is expressing interest toward me then you're right on the mark," Hermione replied, bitterly. Neville scrunched his nose in distaste at the latter option. It wasn't that Hermione wasn't nice or good-looking, she just wasn't his type. No, he likes smart girls, but he also likes girls who have a bit of fun after classes and aren't cooped up in a library all day.

"First of all, he hasn't called you a mudblood since... I don't even remember when, and accusing of liking other people is a sign of jealousy. He also seemed disappointed when you faked him out on a kiss, he is single, he trusts your judgement, he called you pretty, he challenges the guy he thinks you like for dominance, he cares about what you think of him, he's tried to make you admit your attraction to him, his voice was bitter when he accused you of liking Ron, he won the Felix Felicis to use on _you_, he has called you 'his', he's impressed when you beat him in a battle of wits and not outraged or embarrassed, he was staring at you earlier, he was tongue-tied when you acknowledged him, AND FOR MERLIN'S SAKE HE'S STARING AT YOU RIGHT NOW!" Luna whisper yelled. Hermione immediately looked at Draco. Sure enough, there he was with his grey eyes staring at _her_. Not Greengrass. _HER_. She looked away with a big smile on her face.

* * *

Hermione was walking to the Prefect Lounge. She had forgotten to check the Prefect notice board to see who she'd have Prefect Duty with. She spent a few moments contemplating who she might be patrolling with when suddenly she ran into the Prefect Lounge's door. She literally walked into it. It took a second to process that she'd just walked into a door, but she eventually opened it and entered the Prefect Lounge. No one else was there, probably already patrolling. She made her way to the notice board. She dragged her finger down until she found her name on the list. Hermione Granger and-

Draco Malfoy.

Perfect.

Seventh floor.

Hermione left the Prefect's Lounge and made her way over to the Moving Staircases. Draco was going to have a field day. She basically ran up to the seventh floor where a boy with platinum hair was waiting.

"You're late, Granger," Dr- Malfoy informed her.

"I wouldn't have been had we not been stationed on the _seventh _floor," She replied.

"Well, you should have compensated for that. You can complain about it to McGonagall," Malfoy taunted.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" She said.

He said nothing and started walking.

* * *

The next half an hour consisted of nothing interesting besides walking past the Room of Requirement for the third time, resulting in its door appearing, scaring Hermione so much she jumped back resulting in her ramming into Draco's chest. She expected him to be weak and skinny, but he was surprisingly toned. All of that Quidditch really pays off. After that, no words were exchanged. No signs of change occurred except the rising levels of tension. She hoped that he wouldn't catch her staring, unaware that he already knew. She suddenly felt his hand grab hers. She looked at him confusedly. He made a gesture for her to be quiet as he crept over to a nearby broom closet. He abruptly opened the door to reveal two figures kissing in the closet. Seeing as who this mystery couple is does not benefit the plot in any way, and you'll never believe who it was if I told you, their identities remain secret. Let's just say, they had to promise that they hadn't seen anything and continued to walk in an awkward silence, neither of them sure how to process what they had just seen. Neither of them noticed that they were still clasping each other's hand.

Suddenly, Draco stopped again. "Did you mean what you said?" He asked.

"What?" She asked, not sure what he was referring to.

"In Potions."

"Yes."

"Well, I know that being a pureblood doesn't make everything mine, but there's something I wish was..." He said. She turned around and huffed, her curly curls landing gracefully on her shoulder. Why was he telling her this _now_?

"And what might that be?" She asked. He was suddenly very close to her. As he began to lean closer, she found it becoming increasingly difficult to look in his stormy grey eyes.

He leaned in to her ear and whispered, "You." He pulled away a bit, and his piercing stormy grey eyes focused on her lips. She knew that she must have been mad when she didn't resist when the he leaned in for a kiss. And so the Prince of Slytherin kissed the Princess of Gryffindor. In that moment everything seemed so perfect, like a fairy tale. Too bad it could only last a moment. They were always meant to be, but she wears red and he wears green. And so, our heroes must proceed in their love story and become 'star-crossed lovers' as Shakespeare would call them. If only the man could see them, he would kick Luna off of the throne as King of Dramione.

**A/N: Yeah, so I've noticed that Dramione has slowly taken over this fic, but that's only because I want the story to ultimately be mostly focused on Neville and Luna's love story. I just want to bring Draco and Hermione together and then get on with Neville and Luna and carry out the plan that I have for them. I promise that I will make these longer and I'm sorry that it took so long, but I've been trying to focus on my other story, which I have developed extreme writer's block for. I hope to make updates more frequently and I also hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to review and follow or favorite this story if you liked it.**


	7. Chapter 7 - The Tangled Hair

**A/N: Hello everyone! I am so sorry for taking so long! I have no idea why I haven't posted this sooner. I've just been adding little finishing touches here and there, but other than that, it's been done for a while. I just wanted to write a perfect follow-up chapter, but then I got really busy and didn't get to finish Chapter 8. So, I'm currently working on that. Again so sorry for the delay. I hope you like this chapter.**

Their lips had touched for a few moments before they realized what they were doing. Hermione was the one to pull away. Her eyes were wide, her fingers were tangled in his hair and she was trapped in his embrace. They stayed in that position for a few moments before Hermione snapped out of it, and carefully began to detangle her fingers from the boy's light hair. He winced when she accidently pulled his hair.

"Sorry," She said, gently.

"Wanting more, are we, Granger?" Draco teased, smirking. Hermione pulled his hair again, this time on purpose. "Ow. Bloody hell, Granger, do you _want _me to lose my hair? You seem so fond of it."

"One more time and your hair won't be the only thing you'll lose," She threatened, now not bothering to be careful with his hair. She had one finger from her left hand freed from his soft blonde hair.

"Is that a threat? What are you going to do? Kiss me to death? Ow, ow, ow, ow." He said, as she pulled his hair again. His hands tightened around her waist in pain, alerting her to the fact that he was still holding her.

"You do realize that _you're _the one who's still holding on to _me_, right?" She replied.

"Yes, I've been aware of that for some time. Well spotted," He said, sarcastically.

"Are you going to stop?" Hermione asked, liberating another finger.

"Nope," Draco answered squeezing her small figure, "When do you plan on removing your fingers from my hair? You pull awfully hard."

"I'm working on it!" Hermione said, slapping the back of his head with her still entangled hand, which resulted in her accidentally pulling his hair... again. He groaned. "Sorry."

"Only you would apologize after hurting someone deliberately," Draco said, smirking, "How long does it take to bring yourself to remove your fingers from my hair... not that I'm complaining."

"Really? You're actually enjoying this? You could've fooled me," She replied, "It's not my fault that your hair refuses to let go of me. You two are very much alike."

He turned his head so his mouth was against her ear and whispered, "We both know that you can't resist us." As he spoke, his soft lips rubbed against her ear. Hermione shivered involuntarily. This time, he noticed. She could feel his smirk. Three fingers. All ten were frozen. She turned her head towards him. Their faces were inches apart... for the third time. She forced herself to look away from his beckoning lips and moved her eyes to his. They were grey, but looked blue in the lighting. He was smirking.

"We can't do this," She said looking away from his eyes.

"Don't worry about _that_, Granger," He said as if it were something small and insignificant, "Now is not the time nor the place. Now, you know where the place is... The Room of Requirement."

She laughed. "No way."

"Why?" He whined.

"There is no way you're getting me _alone_ in the _Room of Requirement_. That is the last place I want to be with you."

"Don't you trust me, Granger?" Draco asked, smirking.

"Of course not."

"Loosen up."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Please, why shouldn't you?"

"You've never given me a reason to."

"Well I'll give you one now. You should trust me because if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already. I've already had plenty of opportunities."

"I'm not worried about you hurting me."

"Good. What _are_ you worried about? Nothing could possibly go wrong."

"You... and me... we aren't supposed to be doing... this. We're supposed to be enemies. Not... whatever we've started. I'm a Gryffindor. You're a Slytherin. I'm Harry Potter's best friend. You're his nemesis. I'm a muggleborn. You're a pureblood."

He leaned in a bit, making their lips touch for a second before pulling away and saying, "Opposites attract."

* * *

Luna awoke on the Astronomy Tower. She must have fallen asleep the night before when she was planning with Neville. That would explain why she had awoken next to Neville on the couch they had transfigured last night. They had been so successful. They had a whole plan to get Hermione and Draco together. Luna reluctantly got up from the couch, careful not to disturb Neville. She was tempted to lay back down and fall back asleep, pretending she had never realized they had been sleeping together. She went down the stairs of the Astronomy Tower and headed for the Ravenclaw common room. Before the door could ask her its question, she was faced with Pansy Parkinson and her band of Slytherin girls.

"Where do you think your going, Loony?" She asked.

"Into my common room, of course," Luna said, smiling at Pansy.

"Why are you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" Pansy asked, wrinkling her nose at her heinous taste in clothing. A dark blue sweater with a star pattern on it. Pansy couldn't see any constellation in it, but she never payed much attention in Astronomy. Dark purple jeans, blue leggings, socks with different shades of blue stripes, and Converse high tops.

"I spent the night on the Astronomy Tower," Luna replied, casually.

"Oh, who did you stay there with?" Pansy asked.

"No one," Luna lied straight through her teeth. She hated lying, but she knew Pansy would get the wrong idea if she told her the truth. Then the whole school would get the wrong idea.

"How pathetic, you spent the night on the Astronomy Tower just because why the bloody hell not? I thought that even _you_ weren't _that _bad, but I was clearly wrong," Pansy said, laughing along with her fellow Slytherins. Luna hated them. They gave Slytherins a bad name. As did most.

"Why else would I stay the night on the Astronomy Tower?" Luna asked.

They laughed harder.

It was so hard to maintain her clueless facade. She pretended to laugh along.

"I should probably get inside, the nargles have been hiding my things lately and I hope to find them before noon."

They continued to laugh. The knocker had been watching, waiting patiently. She could tell that it pitied her. She was pathetic.

"What are the key components to wisdom and success?" It asked.

"Intelligence, loyalty, cunning and bravery."

"Well reasoned."

The door opened. She went into her dormitory, slamming the door and slumping onto her bed. Her head was burrowed in her pillow as warm tears stained the fabric. _How could anyone love her when she couldn't even love herself._

* * *

_As Hermione came out of the train, she noticed a boy staring at her. She chanced a glance at him, his eyes were still on her. Finally, she decided that the proper strategy was to stare back. And soon it became a staring contest. After a while the boy smiled, and then finally his grey eyes glanced away at Hagrid as he tried to herd the first years to the boats. She got into a boat with Neville, trying not to think about the boy. When they were almost there, the boy's boat bumped hers. She looked up at him. He was staring at her, smiling again. And the staring contest was back on._

* * *

_Hermione was waiting for Professor McGonagall to fetch them for The Sorting. As soon as the boy got off the boat the two ugly and stupid looking boys that were in his boat stood beside him like bodyguards. Not letting anyone come near him. He was speaking to Harry Potter. She moved closer to them to hear what they were saying._

_"I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He said._

_A boy with red hair sniggered. Draco looked at him with a scowl._

_She couldn't hear what he said next, but it made the boy's ears turn redder than his hair. Draco turned back to Harry Potter. She'd read about the Malfoys. They were an ancient pure blooded family, but they were also known for having a huge prejudice for muggleborns. She knew she should probably stay away from him, but she still felt a strange attraction to him. He seemed to have liked her. She pushed the thought out of her head. She heard Draco say, "You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." Draco extended his hand for Harry Potter to shake, but he didn't take it. Hermione had a feeling that he was talking about people like her._

_She just barely heard Harry Potter say, "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks." _

_Just then Professor McGonagall came back, gesturing for them to follow her. They entered the Great Hall. She'd seen pictures in books of the room, but it was so much better in person. Candles were floating in mid-air with nothing holding them, different moving paintings were scattered across the walls of the room and the night sky projected onto the ceiling, casting moonlight down onto the room below it. It was breathtaking. A dusty old hat was perched on a stool in front of the four tables in the room. Professor McGonagall was walking towards it. She had read about the hat in one of her books. It was enchanted and could see into a person's mind, letting it find out which house they should be in. She wasn't sure what house she wanted to be in. She didn't think she'd fit in Hufflepuff. The Slytherins didn't seem to be the most welcoming to muggleborns. She was quite interested in Ravenclaw. She thought she'd fit in well there, but she'd let the hat decide._

_Professor McGonagall stood beside the hat with a piece of parchment in her hand. Her and the rest of the first years were standing in the middle of the room, waiting anxiously to be sorted. She tried to move up to the front a bit. She wound up standing next to Draco Malfoy. She tried to move up more, but everyone was now knit so tightly together that it was impossible to go forward or back. Draco's bodyguards weren't with him. _

_He leaned over to her and whispered, "What house do you want to get in?" _

_She was a bit taken aback that he was speaking to her, but she quickly gathered her composure and replied, "I'm not sure. I think Ravenclaw is where I'd fit best. I'm too competitive to be in Hufflepuff and the Gryffindors seem like a bunch of idiots who only want to do things that are obscenely stupid and dangerous. Slytherin seems like an exclusive access club. Only the proper pure bloods are allowed in." His eyes were a dull blue on the outside and grey on the inside._

_"You're a smart girl. I just don't see what's wrong with Slytherin. You seem like you would fit in fine there," He replied, "I guess Ravenclaw is better than Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, though. I'd probably just drop out if I was sorted into Hufflepuff."_

_"As you said, I'm more smart than I am cunning. I don't think the hat would put me in Slytherin anyway. It would be like throwing a small fish into a tank of sharks."_

_"Why can't you be a shark?"_

_"Hermione Granger!"_

_"That's me. I'll see you in class," Hermione said to the blonde boy. She moved through the sea of first years and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall put the hat on her head. She could feel the hat sifting through her mind. _

_"Hmm... let's see... difficult. Plenty of brains, courageous, too. You've got wit... _Oh, _you've taken a liking to the Malfoy boy__," The hat whispered in her ear, quiet enough that only she could hear._

_"No I haven't!" She thought, knowing the hat could hear her, "I've just met him!"_

_"You can deny it all you want, but it's written all over the inside of your head. You'd be good in Slytherin, but they would destroy you the first chance they get. Now, the only question is Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? All though, you _would_ be a good Slytherin." _

_"Not Gryffindor." She whispered._

_"Not Gryffindor? This is about the Malfoy boy isn't it? Well, if you insist.."_

_"No, that's not what I meant. Just put me in the house I belong in." She thought._

_"That's what I thought. In that case... you must be...GRYFFINDOR!"_

_The table to the left cheered. Hermione's face became placid, as she hopped off the stool, walking toward her new housemates. She couldn't say that she was completely disappointed. Gryffindor seemed like a good house._

_"Draco Malfoy."_

_Hermione looked at the boy, sadly. He looked at her for a moment. He didn't seem cold towards her, but his gaze was different this time. He sauntered up to the stool and sat down. His face showed a hint of nerves. The hat sat on his head for a few moments before it yelled out,_

_"SLYTHERIN!"_

_Hermione clapped weakly. There goes her first friend._

* * *

_Draco grabbed Neville's Remembrall that had fallen out of his robe pocket on the way down, careful to stay out of Madam Hooch's sight as she took Neville to the Hospital Wing. He snickered. "Did you see his face? If the fat lump had given this a squeeze, maybe he would have remembered to fall on his fat arse," He said, laughing. The other Slytherins followed in suit. She wasn't laughing though. _

_"Give it here, Malfoy," Saint Potter said. She was standing next to him, her eyes pleading for him to give it back._

_"No. I think I'll let Longbottom find it himself," He said, hopping on his broom and soaring around the group, then through. His hand brushed hers. It sent shivers up her arm. Surely this would impress her. It would show her that he's better than Potter and the other Gryffindorks. There was no way she was Gryffindor. "Maybe on the roof?" He soared up and hovered high above the group. "What's the matter, Potter? Bit beyond your reach?" He said, sneering._

_Potter grabbed his broom and hurried to get on it, but she stopped him. "Harry, you heard what Madam Hooch said! You don't even know how to fly!" Draco felt a sting of jealousy. She didn't seem to care when he started flying. Scarface flew after him anyway. He was in the air, across from Draco._

_"Give it here, Malfoy, or I'll knock you off your broom!" _

_"Is that so?" Harry dashed for him, but Draco twirled around his broom in a 360. She was watching worriedly. He smirked. "Have it your way, then!" He threw the Remembrall into the air._

_Potter zoomed after the ball, speeding towards a tower. Draco was smirking. She must be impressed. She must know that he's better than Potter now. Just as Potter was about to hit the window, he caught the Remembrall, heading back to the group. Everyone was cheering, even her. They were all running up to congratulate him, especially her. Draco floated back down to the ground, dejectedly._

_Just then, Professor McGonagall showed up. Draco was smirking again, "Harry Potter? Follow me." Pothead followed her, sullenly, while Draco and his friends laughed. At least he got Potter into trouble._

_He was wrong. They made Harry bloody Potter a seeker. He was never going to impress her._

* * *

_"Wingardium Levio-saaa."_

_"Wingardium Leviosar."_

_Slam, slam, slam._

_Hermione was caught in between Draco and Ron in Charms. They were learning the basic levitation spell. Wingardium Leviosa. They were both saying it wrong and Ron was whacking his feather with his wand. She grabbed both of their wand arms._

_"Stop, stop, stop. Ron, you're going to take someone's eye out. Besides, you're both saying it wrong. It's Leviosa, not Levio-saaa or Leviosar."_

_Ron's ears went pink and Draco sneered. "You do it then if you're so clever," Ron said, slamming his wand down._

_"Yeah, if you're so smart, you do it," Draco agreed. Hermione straightened up and swished her wand as Flitwick had instructed them to._

_"Wingardium Leviosa"_

_The feather lifted from the desk. Ron laid his head on his books. Draco watched her, intently._

_"Well done! Ms. Granger's done it everyone!" Flitwick announced._

_He copied her motions saying, "Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_His feather lifted from the desk and he intertwined his with Hermione's. She blushed._

_"Mr. Malfoy's done it too!" _

_Ron huffed, dejectedly._

_Suddenly, Seamus Finnigan's feather exploded._

_"I think we're going to need another feather over here, Professor," Harry said._

* * *

_Draco was walking back from Charms, trying to catch up to Hermione, who was in front of him. He had done it! He was going to try to talk to her. She was walking behind Potter and his friends when they heard the Weasel say, "It's Leviosa, not Leviosar. Honestly, she's a nightmare. No wonder she hasn't got any friends!"_

_Hermione bustled past them, sniffling._

_"I think she heard you," Harry said. Draco pushed past them, stopping in front of Weasley_

_"What's wrong, Weasley? Are you sad because you're too daft to do the spell? How can someone be as much of a hopelessly stupid git as you are? It's really astonishing." _

_"Shove off, Malfoy. Why are you so friendly with her, anyway? Isn't she a little below your ranks?__" Ron asked._

_"What are you talking about? She's actually intelligent, unlike you."_

_"She's a muggleborn, lover boy."_

_"You're lying. How could someone be so pathetic? You're a disgrace to the pureblood line, along with the rest of your sorry excuse for a pureblood family!"_

* * *

_"Hermione, move!" Harry called out._

_The troll began smashing the stalls as she began backing into one._

_"Help!"_

_The boys started to throw broken pieces of wood from the stalls at the troll. One of the pieces hit it on the head, distracting it long enough for Hermione to run under a sink. The troll saw her and went to smash her sink. It cracked the sink, barely missing Hermione._

_"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_Suddenly, the troll's club was lifted from it's hand and began to hover over its head. The troll looked up, confused, as the club came crashing back down. It hit the troll on the head, making it come crashing down onto the ground._

_The three first years became confused, none of them had cast a spell. As they looked at each other, questioningly, Draco slipped out of the bathroom._

_Then, McGonagall, Snape and Quirrel came rushing in._

* * *

Hermione woke up in Draco's arms. He was carrying her somewhere. It was still dark. She'd had strange dreams. They were her memories of first year.

"Where are we going?" She asked, groggily.

"Back to your common room."

"Why?"

"It's 2 AM."

She laid her head on his chest, wanting to go back to sleep. "I'm too tired."

"That's why I'm taking you back to your common room, smart one."

"Well, I'm too tired to remember the password."

"What do you suggest I do then?"

"I don't know, take me somewhere else."

"Where?"

"Where won't anyone see us?"

"You mean you."

"What? You're going to just leave me alone to fend for myself?"

He sighed, "No."

"Then where are _we_ going?" Her right hand was still tangled. "How did you figure you were going to get rid of me when my hand is still stuck?"

"I didn't notice."

"What about the Room of Requirement?"

"I thought you said you didn't want to be there alone with me."

"Well, do we have much of a choice now?"

"I suppose not."

He changed their course toward the Room of Requirement.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I want to."

"No you don't."

She yawned.

"Yeah, I do."

"Why?"

"I can finally get you alone in the Room of Requirement."

"You're a prat,"

She was laughing. She put her other arm around his neck and felt her eyes begin to droop. Draco walked in front of the same place three times and entered a door. She felt him laying her down on something soft. After a few moments, she felt him plop himself down next to her and hold her against his chest. His bare chest. Her head found its way to his chest and her right hand stayed in his hair, while her left rested on his neck. She could feel her consciousness slipping, just as he kissed her forehead.

* * *

**A/N: If you're wondering why some of the memories were Draco's, he's also thinking about his own early memories of Hermione. Just in case you're confused. Yay! New chapter! Are you excited, because I am! Reviews are greatly appreciated. They make me want to write.**


	8. Chapter 8 - The Interrogation of Pudding

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. (I hate these, but it shuts people up about how I'm "going to be sued")**

**_A/N: I suck. I suck. I suck. I suck. I suck._**

* * *

_He was following the trio to Hagrid's hut after curfew. She had been getting closer to Pothead and Weasel. They didn't even do anything. He was the one who saved them all. To make matters worse, she hadn't been noticing him as much since she started hanging out with them. He was becoming a bit jealous and hadn't spoken with her for a few days. Weasley had been taking a liking to Granger. He knew that she hadn't forgotten what he'd said about her. She'd never fall for an oaf like him anyway._

_They knocked on the door and spoke to Hagrid. The king of the oafs let them in. __Draco turned his gaze to a window as they continued to speak about something he couldn't hear. She looked at Weasley. Hagrid hurried to his fireplace and grabbed something he couldn't see._

_He put the thing, an egg, on the table and the group crowded around it, but left just enough space so he could see. After a few moments, the egg began to rattle and cracked. Pieces flew off as a baby dragon emerged. _

_A _dragon.

_It looked at Hagrid. The oaf looked so happy and excited. He pet the small beast's chin. It waddled around and somehow set fire to Hagrid's beard. As he was putting it out, Hagrid saw Draco through the window. He said something and the group turned around as he ran away. _

_They had all seen him._

_He ran back to the castle and once he was inside, he raced to McGonagall's office._

_"Professor! Potter, and Weasley are out of bed!" _

_The old woman, in her nightgown, came bustling out of the room. They hurried down the hall._

_"Good evening." McGonagall said to the group, as Draco appeared smugly from beside her._

She_ looked at him a bit hurt. It was unfortunate that he had to involve her in this, but it had to be done._

_McGonagall gestured for the trio to follow her. They walked back to her classroom. McGonagall sat behind her desk while the trio and Draco stood in front of it. Draco was smirking._

_"Nothing, I repeat, _nothing_ gives a student the right to walk about the school at night. Therefore, as punishment for your actions, 50 points will be taken."_

_Potter gawked._

_"50?!"_

_"Each... And to ensure that it doesn't happen again, all four of you will receive detention."_

_Draco's smirk vanished._

_"Excuse me, Professor. Perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said... 'the four of of us.'"_

_"No, you heard me correctly, Mr. Malfoy. You see, as honorable as your intentions were, you too were out of bed after hours. You will serve detention along with your classmates." _

_Could anything go right?_

* * *

_Hermione tried to speak to Draco all day, but he had been avoiding her. Everytime she called after him, he ignored her. Filch was leading them to Hagrid's hut. It was late at night. Hermione was next to Draco and Harry. Ron kept trying to push his way between Hermione and Draco, but Draco made sure she didn't move from his side even though she probably didn't like him anymore. _

_"A pity they let the old punishments die. There was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming." Filch said. Draco gulped__, and Hermione edged a bit closer to him. "You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do inside the dark forest." Hagrid was waiting outside his house with a crossbow. He sniffled. "Here's your lot for the night, Hagrid. Oh, good God, man, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?"_

_Hagrid sniffed and sighed, "Norbert_'_s gone. Dumbledore sent him off to Romania__ to live in a colony."_

_"Well, that's good, isn't it? He'll be with his own kind." Hermione said, trying to make him feel better_

_"Yeah, but what if he don't like Romania__?" Filch rolled his eyes. "What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby, after all." The man was a mess._

_"Oh, for God's sake, pull yourself together, man. You're going into the forest, after all. Got to have your wits about you." Filch said, shaking his head._

"_We can't go in there. Students aren't allowed!" Draco said, cooly._

_"Yeah, and there's... werewolves!" Ron added. A howl could be heard in the distance._

_"There's more than werewolves in those woods, lad. You can be sure of that." Filch said, cryptically. Ron_ _looked thoroughly frightened. "Night."_

_Filch began to walk back to the castle._

_"Right. Let's go."_

* * *

_The three first years, Hagrid, and Fang were walking along a path. Hagrid stopped, and dipped his fingers into a puddle of an iridescent, silver, substance. He pulled out his fingers and rubbed them together, leaving a silver stain on his fingers. _

_"What's that Hagrid?" Potter asked._

_"It's what we're here for. That's unicorn's blood. I found one dead a few weeks ago. This one seems to have been injured by something," Hagrid explained, "So it's our job to find the poor beast. Harry, Ron, you'll come with me."_

_"Okay," Ron said, weakly._

_"Hermione, you'll go with Malfoy." Hagrid said. Hermione nodded, obviously happy with Hagrid's decision. _

_"Okay. I get Fang." Was all Malfoy said._

_"Fine. Just so you know, he's a bloody coward," Hagrid said as Fang whimpered._

_Hermione and Draco began walking through the forest with Fang, while Hagrid, Harry, and Ron walked in the other direction. _

_"Why did you rat us out?" She asked._

_"Weasley and Potter are my enemies."_

_"What about me?"  
_

_"You're the only one who has a brain. You were just caught in the crossfire."_

_"Well, if you left them alone, no one would need to be caught in between."_

_"You don't understand."_

_"You're right, I don't," She said, "Can you help me understand?"_

_Before he could reply, they heard a howl. She instinctively grabbed his hand. He squeezed her hand back. She looked at the ground, the lamp illuminating her face that had begun to break out into a blush. She still didn't let go._

_Just as he was going to tell her why he did it, they saw sparks in the sky. Hermione let go of Draco's hand and they turned in the direction of the sparks._

_Harry had a run-in with the unicorn, but it hadn't been alone. How he'd managed to get lost, he didn't say._

* * *

_Hermione was in the library studying. For the third time that day. She couldn't stop obsessing over the final exams. They were so close! __How could she not stress when her whole next year at Hogwarts depended on these grades? She was the top student in all of her classes and she had expectations to live up to. As she was reviewing her potions textbook, she heard footsteps from behind her. She ignored them. They pulled up a chair next to her. She didn't look up. The person closed her book and turned her face so she was looking at them. _

_Draco._

_"I'm studying."_

_"You aren't anymore."_

_"I need to study."_

_"Granger, you know these books backwards and forwards. You don't need to study."_

_She contemplated this for a moment._

_"I guess I can take a little break. So, what do you need."_

_"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to help me mess with Potter and Weasley__."_

_'Why can't you just get along?"_

_"Well, you see, Granger, Gryffindors and Slytherins are polar opposites. We can't stand each other. It's the laws of nature."_

_"Well, I'm a Gryffindor and you like me."_

_"Well, you're in the wrong house."_

_"What is your reasoning for that?"_

_"You're too Slytherin."_

* * *

_Draco was leaning on the balcony on the second floor of Flourish and Blotts. He was waiting. The door opened, letting her, Potter, and Weasley in. Saint Potter and the Weasel hadn't changed, but she most certainly had. She was taller, her hair was longer and curlier, her bangs had been cut shorter, and she was smiling at _him_. He leisurely walked down the stairs, but when he was half-way down, she was whisked away with Mrs. Weasel to Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing. That man was a buffoon. As he was watching Lockhart loathingly, his eyes came across a book. It was a book about magical beasts. He'd heard his father saying something about a beast at Hogwarts and some chamber. He opened the book. What was the thing his father had been talking about? Something with a B. As he flipped through, he found what he'd been looking for. _

_Basilisk._

_He looked around to check that nobody was looking and ripped the page out, placing it in his cloak pocket. When he looked back at her, he saw Potter at the front with Lockhart getting a photo. Saint Potter, always getting commended for existing. Draco couldn't stand it. He walked the rest of the way down the steps as Potter was handed a stack of books by the blockhead. He retreated to the clan of Weasels, relieving himself of his heavy load. _

_"Hey Granger!"_

_She turned to him, smiling. He couldn't help, but return it._

_"Hello Draco."_

_"Did you have a nice holiday?" He asked nervously, his breath hitching in his throat. Merlin, he sounded pathetic._

_"Yeah, what about you? Have you gotten all of your books for the school year?"_

_"Yeah, my father should be coming soon to pay for it all."_

_Just as he said that, he felt an all too familiar cane on his shoulder. His smile vanished and his face became slightly fearful. _

_"You must be... Miss Granger?"_

_Thoughts of the summer flashed in Lucius's mind._

_"Who was that girl that you exited the train station with, Draco?"_

_He had been meaning to ask for months, but the boy had seemed so happy with her, he almost didn't want to know._

_"Oh, that was Hermione Granger, she's my friend."_

_Draco knew his father would be impressed that he made friends with another pureblood._

_"Draco."_

_"Yes, father?"_

_"I don't know any Grangers."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean that if I don't know her family, she must not be a pureblood."_

_"What are you talking about? She's the most pure person I know."_

_"Draco, everyone knows the pureblood family names. There are no pureblood Grangers."_

_"What are you implying?"_

_"I'm saying that she's a mudblood... Or a half breed. Her blood is dirty."_

_It hurt to say it._

_"What do you mean her blood is dirty? She's brilliant, father! She's ought to be the brightest witch of our age." He paused, "And she's beautiful too. I-"_

_He stopped for a few minutes._

_"Say it."_

_"I think I love her, father."_

_The memory faded._

_"Yes, Draco's told me all about you."_

* * *

_Hermione heard the shock in Harry's voice as he was introduced to the new Slytherin seeker. She couldn't see who it was and she wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but she noticed that the whole Slytherin team were holding brand new Nimbus 2001s. She put two and two together and said, "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in. _They _got in on pure talent." The Slytherin team parted so as to clear a path for the new Slytherin seeker to his heckler. It was none other than Draco. He looked at her angrily, but his eyes held sadness and hurt. Hermione immediately felt a rush of guilt. She looked at him apologetically, but he didn't care as_ _h__e looked her in the eyes with a sneer. _

_"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little mudblood."_

_Hermione stood still, glued to her position. An uproar began around her, but she paid it no mind. She stared at Draco with a look of betrayal. Her ears were deaf to the loud bang and the violent jet of green light that had shot out of Ron's wand. She felt hot tears rushing to her eyes. She only looked away from him so he wouldn't see her cry. No, she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. She turned all of her attention to Ron._

_"Ron! Are you alright?" She said, exaggerating every shred of worry that she had for him in her entire being. _

_Ron's only response was a belch that sent several slugs free from his body._

_The Slytherins were shaking with laughter. Some were doubled over, others were on the ground. All, but one. One particular blonde was leaning on his broom watching his former friend dote over the disgusting mess that was the Weasel. All of the Gryffindors were gathered around the slug boy, wanting to help him, but at the same time not wanting to touch him. _

_Harry and Hermione helped the sick lad up and hauled him in the direction of Hagrid's, leaving a trail of large, glistening slugs behind them. She was still shell shocked over the previous events, but tried to keep a brave face for Ron. She chanced one last glance at the boy she thought she'd known. Most of the other Slytherins were either still laughing or trying to make their mirth-filled peers pull themselves together, but he was still just leaning against his broom staring at her. His expression was unreadable from her distance, but had she been closer, she would have seen the guilt that was plastered across his face as he looked after her, longing to seek her out and apologize._

* * *

Hermione woke up in Draco's arms. She was confused for a moment before she realized that she was no longer hauling a sick Ron across the Quidditch Pitch to Hagrid's or feeling betrayed by the exact boy holding her in in his arms. Memories of the previous night came flooding into her mind. Her hand was still stuck in his hair. Damn. There was absolutely no way she could get out of this position without waking him up. Seeing as she couldn't move in the slightest, she tried to go back to sleep, but it was easier said than done. Finally, Draco's eyes began to flutter open. Hermione was still trying to fall asleep and hadn't noticed his stirring. Once he had woken up a bit he realized their position.

"Bloody hell?"

Seeing as her ear was right next to his throat, she was startled awake. She had almost gone back to sleep too.

"What was that for?"

"Good morning to you too."

"You're a jerk."

"And yet you still sleep with me."

"That has never happened!"

"Technically."

"It has still never happened and is never going to happen."

"Technically."

They stayed quiet for a few moments.

"Draco."

"Yes, Granger?"

"Can you..." She wasn't sure how to say it. "Move your head?"

"Your hand is _still_ in my hair."

"Oh thank you for pointing that out to me. I would have never noticed had you not told me."

"Granger, Granger the brightest witch of her age, but yet still so unobservant."

He snickered.

She hit his shoulder, playfully.

"Fine, if you want me to, I'll take them out... finally."

"No, it's fine. You don't _have_ to."

Hermione laughed.

"Still enjoying yourself, are you?"

"I'm just being the courteous gentleman that I am."

They lapsed into silence, yet again, both of them repressing the urge to ask the impending question that was on both of their minds.

"So what are we now?"

"Do we really need to talk about it this early in the morning?"

"Draco."

"Yes, Granger?"

"It's 10:30."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes of course I-"

She glanced at the clock next to their nightstand. It read 6:30.

"What? I could have sworn it read 10:30 just a minute ago."

"You're so gullible, Granger."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's the Room of Requirement. It morphs itself to your needs."

"Why would I need it to be 10:30?"

"You wouldn't, but I would need it to be 6:30."

"You're a git, you know that?"

"I try, Granger, I try."

* * *

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked as he sat down with his fellow lions at the Gryffindor table that morning.

"Dunno, I haven't seen her all morning," Harry answered.

"Come to think of it, I don't think she even came back to the dorms last night," Lavender said, trying to recall the last time she'd seen the girl.

"Where could she have gone all night without Filch catching her?" Neville asked as he plopped down next to Harry with Luna at his other side. Everyone merely shrugged.

"Well, she had to patrol last night, but I don't think she would have had to stay out all night for that." Harry answered.

"I didn't know she had to patrol last night," Ron said. Apparently no one else had known either. Not even Luna.

"I ran into her when she was heading out for the 7th floor," Harry said. This seemed to have satisfied the group.

"Do you think she's alright?" Neville asked.

"Hermione's a big girl, Neville. She can handle herself," Lavender said.

Meanwhile, the snakes on the other side of the room were having a similar conversation.

"Where's Draco?" Pansy asked.

"He wasn't in the common room?" Daphne asked.

Pansy shook her head.

"Was he in the dorms this morning?" Daphne asked the boys.

"Nope and he wasn't there last night either," Theo said.

"Didn't he have to patrol last night?" Blaise asked, "Who says he wasn't spending extra time with his patrolling partner?"

Pansy looked like Blaise had just sprouted a second head.

"Gross, he was patrolling with Granger." Daphne said.

"What if Granger did something to him?" Crabbe asked.

"Draco knows how to handle her," Blaise said, "It's not like she could do anything too bad to him. The worst she could do is hex him. If he made her _really_ mad, he might've gotten himself another punch in the face."

Just then, Draco slipped into the seat beside Blaise with very tangled hair.

"Look who decided to show up," Blaise said.

"What happened to you, mate?" Goyle asked.

"What're you talking about?" He asked, as though everything were completely normal.

"Mate, you do realize that your tie is on backwards," Blaise said.

Draco looked down at his tie and sure enough, it was on backwards. He quickly fixed the mistake and carried on.

"Are you planning on explaining yourself any time soon?" Pansy hissed.

"No thanks."

"You don't really have much of a choice," Daphne said.

"You're one to talk," Draco said, "Do tell us, Daphne. What were _you_ doing last night?"

Daphne shut her mouth and blushed slightly.

"What's going on because I am very confused," Theo said while Crabbe and Goyle nodded in agreement.

Oh great, now he had sunken to Crabbe and and Goyle's level of understanding.

"There's nothing to be confused about. Nothing happened," Draco said.

"Your hair begs to differ," Blaise said.

Draco swiped at the blond mop, trying to tame the mess.

"Yeah, you look like a blonde Potter," Theo said.

"Shut up," Draco said with as much venom he could possibly pump into his voice.

"Someone's touchy this morning."

* * *

Hermione figured enough time had passed since Draco had entered the Great Hall for her to come in without looking too suspicious. She made sure to double check that everything looked normal before she walked into the room and over to her designated table. She knew they were staring at her. She prepared herself for the questions they'd inevitably throw at her. She sat next to Harry and waited.

In a matter of seconds, she was the target of an open fire.

"Where have you been?"

"Why didn't you come back last night?"

"Was it because of patrols?"

"Was your patrolling partner cute?"

Gagging noises from Harry.

"What? I have to know."

"Why didn't you tell me you had patrol last night?"

"She doesn't have to tell you everything, Ron!"

"Can someone pass the pudding?"

"There is no pudding for breakfast."

"I told Dumbledore that pudding is vital for every meal of the day!"

"Why would there be pudding for breakfast? That makes no sense!"

"It makes all the sense in the world!"

"Hermione can you please tell her that pudding for breakfast makes no sense?"

"Come at me bro!"

"Okay that's enough of that," Hermione said, finally intervening in the brigade of questions.

"Well?" Ron asked.

"I found the pudding, Luna," Dean said, passing the bowl to her.

She made a face at Parvati and piled some on her plate with relish.

"You expect me to answer all of your questions?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Well why do you think we asked them?" Ron asked.

"Okay, fine. It's none of your business," Hermione said, grabbing a piece of toast and heading for the exit.

"You can't do that!" Ron shouted.

"Watch me!" Hermione called back.

She turned back at Ron to give him a look of spite, but when her head had begun to turn she noticed a certain blonde that had caused all of this was staring at her and beginning to stand up. She continued to walk, with her head turned back to its original position.

Hermione continued to walk out of the Great Hall as she saw Draco following in her peripheral vision. So much for being inconspicuous. She quicken her pace and when she came through the door, she slammed it lightly, just for effect. She continued to walk, despite her awareness of Draco's being nearly right behind her. When she was a few footsteps away from the door, Draco came through it. He followed her departing figure. She turned down a corridor and continued to walk until she was sure no one would stumble upon them. She stopped and turned toward him so abruptly that he nearly ran into her. She crossed her arms.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I believe that's _my_ line," Draco replied.

"That was normal. You coming after me, however, is not," She said, "They were asking way too many questions to begin with, now they're going to be asking even more."

She could hear them now.

_"Why in Merlin's name did Malfoy come after you?"_

_"Are you guys dating?"_

_More gagging noises from Harry._

_"I really just want my pudding."_

_"Shut up, Luna. This is a serious matter."_

_"Pudding is a serious matter."_

_"WOULD SOMEONE MIND TELLING ME WHY MALFOY CAME AFTER HERMIONE?"_

She cringed at the thought of more fights over pudding and stupid questions.

"Well, I don't believe that storming out of the room was necessary," Draco said.

"I also don't think following me was necessary," Hermione said.

"Did it never occur to you that my friends were also asking too many questions and I wanted to consult with you on what to do?" Draco said.

"O-of course it did!" Hermione lied.

"Why do you always have to dramaticize everything?" Draco asked, "This isn't a soap opera all about you, Granger."

"How do _you_ know about soap operas?" Hermione asked.

"I-it was in Muggle Studies," Draco said, coolly, "As completely useless as the class is, it's an easy A."

"Right, of course," She said.

"So?"

"What?"

"What do you suggest we do about our overly curious housemates?" Draco asked.

"Right, er, can't we just say we had to stay late for patrols?" Hermione replied.

"Come on, Granger, _I_ know that even _your_ friends aren't that dumb. Firstly, no one ever has to stay late for patrols and even if they did, they would _not_ last the whole night. Secondly, you sort of ruined that excuse with your little fiasco in the Great Hall. Thirdly, only your friends are daft enough to believe that story," Draco said, counting off each point on his fingers.

"How about it was late when we got off patrols and I had forgotten the password," Hermione offered.

"Even though that's true, I can't imagine them believing that," Draco said.

"They will," Hermione said, "If I give enough explanations."

"That's wishful thinking," Draco said, "You can evade their questions."

"That's true, but they won't take no for an answer," Hermione said.

"Well, too bad for them. You don't owe them an explanation," Draco said.

"You're right, but I don't think they'll see it your way," Hermione said, giggling.

She couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy had just made her giggle.

She made a mental note to ask Madam Pomfrey to check if she was sick... both physically and mentally.

"That's their problem not ours," Draco said.

"Okay, but what about you?" Hermione asked.

"I'll come up with something," Draco told her.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

He nearly smiled at her concern. She looked so cute with her brown eyes staring up at him.

"I'll be fine," He said, repressing the growing urge to kiss her.

"Are you sure?"

"That's the second time you've asked me that."

"Sorry, it's just, I don't want-"

He had put his finger on her lips.

"It'll be fine. Just... trust me."

"It's just-"

"Do you trust me?"

She hesitated for a moment.

Did she trust him?

She waited a moment longer, then nodded.

"Yes."

"Good. Don't worry about me."

"But-"

"Hermione."

She stopped.

"Why do I get the feeling there's more to this than you're letting me know?" She asked.

"Why do you have to be so damn smart all the time?" He asked.

She smirked.

A _Malfoy_ smirk.

Merlin she's hot.

* * *

**A/N: So I sort of got this up on time with my whole update once a month thing. Still not when I wanted to finish it. I also didn't really accomplish what I wanted to in this chapter, seeing as it had a lot of fluff and memories. I pushed a few things into the next chapter because I didn't really want to ruin the moment. My beta, BethyQuake, pointed out to my that I made a Twilight reference in this chapter. It's an absolutely insignificant sentence that is fair game for any story so I didn't care too much. This sentence came from my own messed up brain, not... whoever wrote Twilight's messed up brain. I had no idea that I 'quoted Twilight' until it was pointed out to me. How she could recognize it so easily, I have no idea. Yet, she claims _I'm_ the one who's getting too involved with it. Sorry to any Twilight lovers out there, BethyQuake is just a hater. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you at the next one.**


	9. Chapter 9 - Controversy

**A/N: Okay I'm very late. I'm sorry. I just... ugh. I want summer so badly. This story... I don't even know. I just... I love it but I have no idea what each chapter holds. I really don't.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way. I wouldn't be writing fanfic if I did.**

* * *

Draco's powerful urge to kiss the girl in front of him was becoming overwhelming.

"I'm supposed to be a Slytherin, remember?" She said, smiling.

"Oh yeah, that's right." He said, "I didn't think you'd remember that."

"Well I did."

"Yeah."

He looked into her beautiful brown eyes for a moment.

"Can I... try something?"

"Okay."

"Close your eyes."

The brown orbs were suddenly hidden by her eyelids.

He slowly began to lean in.

His hands were clenched in his pockets.

They were three inches apart.

Two.

One.

He hesitated a moment.

What if-

He couldn't even compose a proper thought before he felt the space close. Her soft lips were suddenly pressed to his. For the second time ever. He leaned into her lips gently and cupped her cheeks. All thoughts of the world around them disappeared as she snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She was standing on her tiptoes.

In a matter of seconds Draco's tie was backwards and Hermione's hands were firmly stuck in the boy's silky blonde hair. Again.

Suddenly, Hermione pulled away in a similar fashion that she had the first time.

"Don't do this now, Granger."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Here we go."

"We can't keep doing this. Do you know how bad it would look if we get caught?"

"Am I really that repulsive?"

She glared at him.

"This isn't a joke."

"Well this is stupid. I like you. You like me. It's not complicated."

It was such an obvious lie.

"We can't do this… It's not-"

"It's not what?"

"It's not…It's not safe."

"Who in their right mind cares about being safe?" He paused. "And if anything, I should be the one worrying about safety."

"That's what I'm talking about. We can't do this. If we get caught they might tell your friends or your parents."

He didn't say anything.

"You know I'm right. You'll be disowned or worse."

"Well it's a little late."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. You're right."

"Maybe we should just-"

"Forget about this."

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Ron asked, sinking into a red arm chair in the Gryffindor common room.

"If I'm not mistaken, that was Hermione telling you to mind your own damn business." Fred said, leaning against the wall in front of Ron.

"I would take her advice, brother," George added from next to George.

"Shut up."

"She's right, you know," Harry said, "She doesn't have to tell you everything."

"What's up with you?"

"I'm just saying she has a right to keep certain things private."

"I thought you were on my side!"

"I'm not on a side, it's just she deserves her own privacy."

"It sounds like you're on her side."

"I'm not on a side."

"Sure."

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Luna's voice said as she paced in front of Neville.

"I don't see the problem here," Neville said.

"How can you not? While Ron is jumping down her throat about everything she does, there's no way she's going to risk being seen with Malfoy," Luna said, grabbing her hair while she spoke.

"We don't even know how Malfoy feels about her. That's a bigger problem than her being cautious."

Luna stopped pacing and she made a high-pitched squeaking noise.

"I didn't even think about that. This could ruin everything! No. No. No. No."

She began to rapidly go through the notes she'd taken to see what she could do about this immense problem.

Neville grabbed her arms and said, "Luna it's okay. He has to like her in some way or else he wouldn't flirt with her, right?"

Luna calmed down immediately.

"That's absolutely right, Neville," She let out a huge sigh of relief, "So now the only thing we need to do is get Ron out of the way long enough for us to execute our master plan."

"Yay! What's our master plan again?"

"I've told you five times already."

"I forgot."

"Okay, I'll tell you one more time."

* * *

When Hermione entered the common room she was met with a flurry of yells being thrown from every side of the room.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"WHY WEREN'T YOU HERE HOURS AGO?"

"WERE YOU WITH YOUR PATROL PARTNER?"

Violent gagging sounds from Harry.

"WHY DO YOU KEEP DISAPPEARING?"

She just rushed to the staircase, careful to keep her face out of view. She slammed the door to the girls' dormitory shut behind her. Her face came into view in Lavender's mirror. Another fresh tear slid down her pale cheek. The tip of her nose was red from the unceasing onslaught of tears. Her breaths were shaky and loud. She sniffed. This was not the first time Draco Malfoy had made her cry but it was different this time. She hurt a lot more than she had the innumerable times he'd called her a mudblood. She didn't know why she cared. After all, it had been her who'd said they shouldn't be together. Her hand swiped away the tears as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Quickly, she ran into the bathroom and locked the door. She sat on the linoleum floor, leaning against the door, and ignoring the murmuring coming from the dorm. Silently, she weeped into her knees, waiting for them to leave.

A knock came to the door.

"Hermione, are you in there?"

It was Lavender.

"Er, yeah, I was just going to take a shower. I'll be out in a few minutes."

There was more murmuring until Lavender finally replied saying, "Well, come to the common room when you're done."

A door shut and suddenly the murmuring was gone. Hermione hoisted herself up from the floor. She dried her tears and washed her face. The cool water cleared her face of any evidence that she been crying aside from her red nose which was already beginning to return to its normal color. Who needed Draco Malfoy? He's just a pig-headed and arrogant Slytherin. A foul. loathsome, evil little cockroach. She chanted that in her head. Foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach. She didn't need him and she was determined to make him know it.

* * *

_"Maybe we should just-"_

_"Forget about this."_

_"I wasn't going to say that."_

_"Well, I am."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"I think we should forget about whatever this is, Granger."_

_"You want me to act like nothing ever happened between us?"_

_"I-"_

_"Consider it forgotten. From now on, you're nothing more than a bouncing ferret to me."_

_And with that she walked away._

_"Hermione."_

_"I'm sorry, have you forgotten, Malfoy? You're only allowed to call me Granger, remember?"_

Draco couldn't stop playing it in his head. You're nothing more than a bouncing ferret to me. Draco stormed into the common room, dismissing his housemates' greetings and entering his dorm, slamming the door behind him. What had he done? He didn't want to end it with Hermione. He just… couldn't do that to her. He'd made such a mess of things. How could he let her get so close in a matter of twenty-four hours? She was so-. No. He couldn't think about her anymore. She's probably moved on. Why wouldn't she? It was just one night. Two kisses. Everything will go back to normal tomorrow. He looked at his phial of Felix Felicis. It was no longer full a small amount had been used. His luck must have run out.

* * *

**A/N: Okay there ****_will_**** be more Neville and Luna in the next chapter. I know a lot of you want more Neville and Luna and I am honestly trying. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I appreciate any suggestions you have so be sure to leave them in a review. Thank you so much for reading. See you in Chapter 10!**


	10. Chapter 10 - A Little Inter-House Unity

**A/N: Whilst writing this, I've realized that I sort of suck at writing Nuna... That's probably why I've been avoiding writing them for so long. I've fixed that though. As you can see there is Nuna in this chapter! Thank Merlin.**

* * *

Every few weeks, there is an inter-house party held by the Hufflepuffs in the Great Hall. They called it the Unity Club. The club was exclusive to fifth years and older, to which almost everyone in the school who met the requirements took part in the 'club meetings.' It was a time where everyone got together and had fun. Hermione never usually attended the meetings because she was always busy with schoolwork. She wasn't really fond of parties anyway, but this time she had decided to go. She used the same hair potion that she had for the Yule Ball, making her hair slightly wavy. Despite her strict policy that she didn't need it, she also had put on makeup. When she was leaving the dormitory, she was wearing a black and white striped crop top with a black jacket that didn't cover much. She was also wearing rolled up shorts, black stockings and high heels. She did not look like Hermione Granger, that was for sure.

When she exited the dormitory, the entire common room was looking at her. She smirked. _Perfect._ By the time she had walked down the stairs, Ron had stomped in front of her. His ears and face were redder than his hair and it looked like steam was coming from his ears.

"What do you think you're wearing?" Ron inquired, channeling his inner Mrs. Weasley.

"My outfit for the Unity meeting." She answered.

"I thought you said the Unity Club was irresponsible." Ron said, mimicking her.

"I changed my mind." Hermione stated, dully. "Now if you'll excuse, I have a meeting to go to."

She walked around Ron and through the portrait hole with pride in her every step.

Not many people were in the corridors. They were probably still getting ready for the party. She continued her proud stride all the way to the Great Hall. By that time she had gotten a number of incredulous looks from people she passed. Hermione, however, only held her head higher and paid them no mind. _This is it_, she thought. _Just this morning I was slamming this door and crying in the dormitory._ She opened the door. There was loud music blaring and punch bowls that smelled suspiciously of fire whiskey. The Hufflepuffs may have been the ones to start this, but it was obvious the Gryffindors had taken over the meetings. Not many people had arrived yet. Only people who ran the Unity Club were there.

"Hey, Hermione!" Susan Bones called to her. "I don't think I've seen you here before."

"It's my first time coming." She replied.

"Oh, wonderful! It's always great to have a new member." She said, smiling. "You look fantastic, by the way."

"Thank you. I'm not usually one for parties so I wasn't really sure what to wear." Hermione admitted, sheepishly.

"It doesn't show." She assured.

* * *

They talked for a while longer until other people started showing up. Susan saw that her friends had come and, seeing the look of longing on her face, Hermione insisted she go with them. As she was leaning against the wall, watching the party begin, she caught glimpse of Blaise Zabini over by the punch bowl.

"What brings you out of the library, Granger?" The boy asked her, pouring spiked punch into a cup.

"Definitely not you, Zabini." She retorted with a scowl. "If I'd known you'd be here, I would have stayed in my common room."

"Ooh, you're a feisty one." He said, smirking.

"What do you want?" She asked, bluntly.

"What makes you think I want something from you, bookworm?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"For starters, you're talking to me and haven't called me a mudblood yet." Hermione said, looking at him suspiciously.

"So?"

"_So_, you must want _something_, or you wouldn't be sucking up to me." She reasoned.

"Who says I'm sucking up to you?" He asked in a low voice. "I'm just making conversation."

"Of course you are." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Perhaps a dance might make you less touchy."

"I'll pass."

"Your loss."

As more people came, more eyes shifted to Hermione. It wasn't until Draco showed up that she started paying attention.

Once her eyes saw the ferret's platinum hair, she grabbed Blaise and hurriedly said, "On second thought, I'll take that dance."

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist." He teased, smirking.

She rolled her eyes.

"Git."

* * *

Luna watched the exchange between Hermione and Blaise, horrified. She had to find Neville. She spotted the Gryffindor boy standing next to Harry with the other Gryffindor sixth years. She rushed over to him.

"Neville, we have a situation." She said, urgently.

"What is it?" Neville asked, leaving the group and going to a more secluded area of the Great Hall.

Luna pointed to Hermione and Blaise dancing together and looking like they were having the time of their lives.

"Well, that's a problem, now isn't it?" Neville said.

Luna just nodded vigorously.

Neville turned to Luna, suddenly hit by an idea and extended his hand to her, "W-would you like to dance?"

The girl furrowed her eyebrows but tentatively took his hand as a slow song began to play. They moved over to Blaise and Hermione.

As they got closer, Luna tried to get her attention. They locked eyes. Immediately, she shot her a confused expression and mouthed, "_What are you doing_?"

Hermione just shrugged, smirking and bringing her attention back to Blaise.

"You never answered my question." Blaise said.

"I haven't answered a lot of questions as of late."

"Why did you come?"

"Why do you care?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because it doesn't take a genius to know that you don't like parties."

"And why is that?" She asked.

"Because before I swooped in, you were leaning on the wall spectating."

"I wouldn't say you _swooped_. That makes you sound like a bird." She said, laughing at the thought.

"Well, I've always wanted to be majestic like a raven."

Hermione laughed.

* * *

"What do we do?" Luna asked, pacing in front of Neville.

"Do we really need to spend the night worrying about Hermione and Blaise?" Neville asked. "Maybe she doesn't like Malfoy anymore."

"There's no way." Luna said. "We can't execute our plan now."

"Isn't this good?" Neville asked. "This way, won't Draco get jealous and begin chasing after Hermione and we can stop having to do everything for them?"

"You're absolutely right, Neville!" Luna said, stopping. "All we have to do is wait and see how it plays out."

"In the meantime, what say you to a dance that isn't solely for the purpose of Operation Dramione?" Neville asked, feeling confident.

Luna smiled. "Sure, Neville."

She took hold of Neville's hand and proceeded to drag him onto the dance floor as the slow song stopped and a dance song began. Neville could hardly keep up with Luna's wild dancing but he didn't care.

* * *

Hermione and Blaise danced together the whole night. Hermione didn't even think about Draco once her and Blaise started talking. He was funny. She found herself enjoying his company. Throughout the entire evening, he hadn't insulted her once. He was polite, a gentleman. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to happen at the party but it certainly wasn't this.

"Have we been together the whole night?" She asked as people started to leave.

"It seems we have." He said, leading her over to a chair to rest. "Why, were you planning on meeting up with some friends?"

"No. I'm not entirely sure why I even came." She said.

She felt both Blaise and Draco's eyes on her. Hermione ignored Draco, as she had the whole night. She hadn't realized how badly Draco had treated her outside of their private rendezvous until that night. She had expected Blaise to be the same, but he wasn't. Sure, he had the trademark Slytherin sense of humor and arrogant attitude but it was almost as if he was above acting like all the other Slytherins did. He was an obnoxious git, but he was different. Over the years she had learned to deal with Draco's torment and ignore it. When it seemed like they were going to be together in the way she had wanted in first and second year, she just... forgot everything he'd done. She had forgotten why she had forced herself to forget him in second year. She was suddenly furious that he thought he could just move in on her despite everything he'd said to her. Though she got caught up in the moments they spent together and had forgotten, he most definitely shouldn't have.

"Are you okay?" Blaise asked, startling her out of her reverie.

"Fine, why?" She replied.

"You look like you wanna hex someone into oblivion." He said.

"That's a good idea." She said, getting up from her seat. "Thank you for keeping me company. I had fun."

"Anytime, love."

"You're a good guy, Blaise."

"Now don't go spreading that around." He replied, smirking.

She gave a small laugh and walked out of the Great Hall, sending a smile his way as she walked out.

* * *

As Hermione was walking back to her common room in the deserted corridors, Draco caught up to her.

"What was that?" He asked with a slight hint of anger in his voice.

"What was what?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

"You and Zabini getting all cozy." He replied like the words tasted bad.

"I don't think that's any of your business, _Malfoy_." She said coldly, the word Malfoy saturated with venom. As soon as she'd said it, she hurried away from Draco.

"Hermione." He called after her.

"What do you want?" She asked, whipping around to face him.

"I-I didn't mean what I said before." He said, having trouble forming the sentence. He couldn't stand seeing her dancing and laughing with Blaise. Last night that was _him_. He wished it still was. "I… I want to be with you."

"Oh so _now_ you want be with me? What about tomorrow? Are you just going to come and go as you please? And what about how you've treated me? Am I supposed to ignore it and pretend it didn't happen?" She asked, her voice stern.

"Of course not but-"

"Well what is it? I have dealt with abuse from you for four years and now you just expect me to let it go so you can just have a bit of fun just to throw me away?" She yelled, her voice beginning to crack.

"It's not like that!" He said desperately.

"What is it like then?"

She felt tears coming to her eyes but she forced them back. She couldn't let him know how badly he had hurt her.

"Hermione, please." He pleaded.

"I thought you had changed, but I guess not. You're still the same old Malfoy who calls me a mudblood." She said as she stormed away.

As she walked, she waited. She hoped that she was wrong and he would call after her, but he didn't. She waited.

He watched her go away and took a step back. He took another and turned in the opposite direction, walking away dejectedly.

She still waited even though she heard his footsteps going in the opposite direction. She felt a single tear slide down her cheek. She swiped it away.

By the time she'd gotten to the stairs, her face was tear-stained and her eyeliner was smeared down her face. She sat on the stairs and flung the stupid high-heels off her feet. The scene was similar to the aftermath of the Yule Ball. Two sentences played in her mind.

_Draco Malfoy has not changed_.

_Draco Malfoy_ will _not change_.

* * *

"What did you just do?" Blaise asked. "You majorly screwed up, that's what."

"You spied on us?!" Draco said, suddenly distracted from kicking a rock across the corridor.

"I wanted to know why you were staring at her like an idiot the whole night." Blaise defended. "I was going to ask you but then you two started talking. It would have been rude to interrupt."

"You can't tell anyone."

"What's there to tell? You just ruined anything worth sharing, mate." Blaise said disappointedly.

"What'd I do wrong?" He asked.

"If you can't figure that out, then you don't deserve her."

"I know I did _that_, but what does she want me to do, get a time turner?" He whined.

"It's not what you did. It's what you didn't do." Blaise said, sighing.

"Why do you have to be so confusing?" Draco continued to whine.

"You're overthinking it, mate." Blaise said, chuckling. "It's pretty simple."

"I wish I hadn't been so stupid. Who calls the girl they like a mudblood? What the hell was wrong with me?" He said sullenly. "Why am I such an idiot?"

"I don't know, but you'll figure it out." Blaise assured. "And once you have, you better go all out on her."

"Obviously, I'm not stupid."

"Oh, really?" Blaise asked. "I didn't know."

And with that, Blaise walked away before Draco could attack him.

He continued walking down the corridor. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

Smiling, he hurried up the stairs, hoping to make it before curfew.

* * *

"What does she think she's doing?" Ron asked, pacing in front of the group who were lounging on the sofas. "First she stays out all night. Then she disappears after breakfast. She decides to go to a Unity Meeting dressed all... wrong… like... Lavender or something."

"Hey." Lavender yelled shrilly.

"Now she's hanging around Blaise Zabini? Next thing we know, she gonna be dating Malfoy!" Ron said, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"Calm down, Ron. We all know Hermione would never do that." Harry assured.

"Am I overreacting because this doesn't sound like Hermione." Ron said.

"You may be overreacting just a bit." Harry said cautiously.

"But she danced with a _Slytherin_ the entire night." Ron said.

"I think they'd be cute together." Lavender said, playing with her hair. "We all just need some good old fashioned inter-house unity."

Everything was silent for a moment.

"Can I shoot her?" Ron asked.

"Not in public." Harry said after a moment as though actually contemplating the question.

* * *

Neville and Luna were walking to the Ravenclaw common room. They had completely forgotten about Operation Dramione throughout the entire night. When they had left the meeting, Neville insisted he escort Luna to her common room.

"I had fun tonight." Luna said. "You're a very nice dancer."

"Not as good as you." Neville said, blushing.

"Thank you." She said, holding his hand. "I really like you, Neville."

"I really like you too, Luna." He replied, looking at the floor. "You're actually my best friend."

"That's sweet but I like you differently." Luna said.

"What do you mean?"

Before she could elaborate, they'd reached her common room door.

As though forgetting what had just happened, Luna turned to Neville saying, "Thank you for a wonderful evening." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek whispering, "I'll see you tomorrow, Neville."

* * *

**A/N: Ah Nuna things! I love this story. What do you guys think of Blaise and just... oh my god. Thank you for reading. Come back next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Pinky Swear

**A/N: Hey guys! So I'm a crap author and left you guys for sixth months and I feel really terrible. My friend even had to make a review on this story telling me to get my bum in gear. I've just been really busy with school but now I'm finally on break and was able to finally write this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

It had been a few weeks since the Unity meeting and Hermione's life had finally gotten back to normal… well, almost. There was still the problem of Malfoy.

They hadn't spoken all week, but he was always sure to be in the same place she was. Always. She just knew he was doing it on purpose. He had to be.

Right?

He would occasionally catch her eye, giving her a subtle look, and, with an overdramatically resigned sigh, would look away. He was such a drama queen. That was another thing about him that would never change. She often found thoughts like these crossing her mind when he was around.

That was another problem with Malfoy. You can't forget him. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't rid the sound of his laughter and the glow of his smile from her memory. It was forever burned into the back of her mind. That was the worst of her Malfoy conundrum. She knew things about him.

Even if they'd only been together for one night, she had learned things about him that she never would have learned if that night had really never happened. It was like a constant reminder that things _had_ changed. No matter how much she tried to push the thought away, things would _never_ go back to the way they were. They couldn't truly go back to hating each other's guts. Every time he absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair, she remembered how soft — no, silky — his hair felt in her hands.

She hated it. And she hated him.

At least that's what she told herself.

Hermione was lying to herself. She knew it too. She just chose to ignore her awareness.

"Hey." Ron's voice rang, pulling her out of her latest reverie. "Are you still there?"

Ever since Ron was poisoned, she stopped avoiding everyone. Ron's condition helped her get her mind off Malfoy for a while. It was something else to worry about. Something more important than her own insignificant problem.

She shook her head a little, trying to clear her mind as she sighed. "Yeah. just got caught up in my thoughts for a second."

"Are you okay? You seem to be doing that a lot lately." Harry asked, clearly concerned.

Great, now she was worrying them.

"I'm fine." She answered, smiling reassuringly despite the unconvinced looks they gave her. "It's nothing, really."

"If you say so." Ron sighed.

With that, he proceeded to go off on another tangent about his Quidditch issues.

* * *

"What happened?" Luna asked, putting her binoculars down and sighing.

The tension between Draco and Hermione was practically tangible. It was like it was illegal to even look at each other. Every time their eyes met, they had this deer in the headlights look in their eyes like someone just caught them doing something strictly forbidden. Naturally, Luna the Love Master, noticed this right away. Neville, however, was still confused on the matter.

"What do you mean?" Neville asked, still absolutely perplexed by Luna's insistence that something had gone wrong in their plan.

Everything was exactly the same. If anything, they were looking at each other more. Wasn't that a _good_ thing?

"I _mean_ we're right back to where we started." Luna replied, turning back to her muggle binoculars.

"What _are_ those, anyway?" Neville asked, tapping the strange contraption she kept bringing to her eyes. "Is that what's telling you all this stuff about Malfoy and Hermione's relationship?"

"They're binoculars. Muggle thing. They let you see things closer than they actually are. Like omnioculars." Luna explained. "And I don't need to use magic to see the thick layer of awkwardness between them. It's so obvious, you can almost actually see it."

Neville just sighed.

Over the past few weeks, he'd gotten used to Luna's antics and had since accepted that he simply could _not_ understand what they were doing.

"Why are we watching them, anyway?" He asked, wanting a break from Hermione's boy drama. "Malfoy's not even here."

"He will be." was all she said as she clung to her binoculars, desperately.

Normally, Neville would concede and stay with her until Malfoy _did_ show up a few minutes later, but they'd been at this for a few weeks. He'd seen the same scene play out every time. Hermione is minding her own business, she sees Draco and something — Neville wasn't quite sure what — would happen to her, making her more distant and reserved. He had grown rather tired of watching — no, it had really become more like stalking at this point — and not understanding.

"Come on, Luna." Neville implored, taking her "binoculars". "We already know what's going to happen. It's the same every day. Let's get some lunch."

"Not hungry."

"Well, how about we visit the giant squid." He suggested.

"He can wait." Luna replied, reaching for the binoculars again.

Luna had been on full Operation Dramione mode ever since the Unity Meeting. The first day, Neville didn't worry. He figured it was probably because she realized they had completely abandoned their mission the night before and was trying to fix whatever they messed up.

Neville was quite disappointed the day after that when all she wanted to do was stalk Hermione all day again. It was nothing like the scenarios he'd played out in his head; almost like nothing even happened between them.

"No, Luna." Neville pressed, pulling them out of her reach. "You are not wasting another day. We are going to go out and do _something_."

"But-"

"It's always the same, Luna. We've watched the same thing happen so many times _I've memorized_ it." Neville continued, holding the binoculars higher as she began to jump for them.

"What if something happens?" She pleaded.

"Even I can tell nothing ever happens and stalking them isn't going to change that." He countered.

Luna stopped jumping and sighed. "Fine."

Neville lowered the binoculars and smiled. "Good. Let's go."

With a sudden burst of confidence, Neville took Luna's hand and headed down the corridor.

* * *

"So, what are you going to do, mate?" Blaise asked, handing his friend a bottle of firewhiskey.

"I don't know." Draco replied, pouring himself a glass and chugging it.

"I thought you had a plan." He said, taking a sip of his own.

"I had an _idea_." Draco corrected, pouring another glass. "Those are two very different things."

"I know, but it's been _weeks_, Malfoy." Blaise reminded. "By this time she could be completely over you."

"She's not." Draco said, taking a swig of his firewhiskey.

"How do you know?" Blaise asked.

"She can't be." He insisted, taking another long sip.

"If only you had some Felix Felicis." Blaise mused. "_That_ would solve your problems."

Draco choked on his drink.

"Wh-what did you say?" He asked, trying to recover from the slight outburst.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you have so many problems right now, the only solution that I can see is some Felix Felicis." Blaise answered. "... Don't you have some up in your room?"

* * *

The sun hid behind thick grey clouds that covered the afternoon sky as Luna and Neville walked by the lake.

"It's beautiful." Luna said, breaking the silence as she looked out at the water.

"Yeah." Neville agreed, looking at her.

"Do you think Jamie would mind if we paid him a visit?" She asked, dreamily.

"Who's Jamie?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows and feeling a pang in his chest.

"The giant squid that lives here." She explained. "I can call him if you want to see."

"That's okay." Neville said, nervously. All he'd ever heard about the giant squid was how terrifying it was. Sure, his sources weren't exactly reliable, but that's not the point. "I'll take your word for it."

"Are you scared?" Luna inquired, picking up on his nerves.

"No." He answered, trying to sound convincing.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I promise." She assured him. "Here."

Luna held out her left pinky.

"What are you doing?" Neville asked confusedly.

"I'm giving you a pinky swear." She clarified, smiling.

"What's that?" He asked.

"It's a muggle way of sealing a promise." Luna continued. "You hook your pinkies together and if the promise is broken, the person who initiated it is supposed to lose their pinky."

"Muggles are strange." Neville murmured, holding out his pinky out to her.

"No. They just do things differently." She explained, interlocking their fingers. "Muggles oftentimes think _we're_ the strange ones. It all deals with perspective, really. Like art."

"What do you mean?" He asked. "How are we like art?"

"Well, it's all up to the eye of the beholder. Whether something's beautiful or normal or strange." Luna continued, as the squid surfaced. Neville was too distracted by her words to be frightened. "Someone decided Jamie was scary. So everyone became scared of him, but that didn't make him any more scary than he was before people got scared. It's all in their head, you see. They make things up to be more than they really are. In the end, all it does is make others lonely."

She knelt down in front of Jamie, reaching out her hand to pet him.

"Come on, Neville." Luna encouraged, gesturing for him to sit next to her. Neville sat beside her, careful to be a safe distance from the squid. "Pet him."

"I don't think so." He shook his head frantically.

"Do it." She pressed.

Neville continued to shake his head.

She rolled her eyes and gently took hold of his wrist.

"What are you doing?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Helping you." Luna answered, moving his hand slowly toward the squid.

Neville didn't move away. He just let her guide his hand toward Jamie.

"Look, you're nearly there." She said, Neville's hand now less than two inches from the squid.

He didn't dare speak for fear of losing his nerve and pulling away.

Nearly there.

"There." Luna chirped as Neville's hand finally made contact with the squid. "It's not so bad, is it?"

"No, it's not." He said excitedly, as she maneuvered his hand to stroke Jamie's skin. "He's not so scary, after all."

"I told you." Luna exclaimed, letting go of his wrist. "Jamie is just a simple squid in need of friends just like the rest of us."

The pair lapsed into silence as they both pet the squid.

"Thanks." Neville said.

"For what?" She asked confusedly.

"This."

Her soft, pale cheeks flushed. "Oh, well, you're the one who got me to bring you here."

"I was worried about you, you know." He admitted.

"Really, I'm sorry." She apologized, looking down at her shoes. "Do you want to know a secret?"

"Sure, what is it?" Neville asked, taking his hand off of Jamie and leaning back.

"The reason I was obsessing over Hermione and Draco so much was because I thought you didn't like what I did after the Unity Meeting." Luna admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Luna blushed.

"Well, I did." Neville assured her. "See, you can even do it again if you like."

They both fell silent.

"That didn't come out right."

"It's fine." Luna giggled.

Then there was silence once again.

"So, are you going to do it?" She finally asked, breaking the silence.

"What?" Neville questioned, unsure of what Luna meant.

"Are you going to kiss me?" She clarified, as if it had been obvious the first time.

"I, uh-" He stammered, caught completely off guard.

"Or would you rather I do it?" Luna asked, responding to his flustered response.

"I, erm," Neville tried to string words together into a coherent sentence but nothing seemed to fit.

"All you had to was ask." She said, leaning in.

"I-" He was about to start stumbling over his words again, but he was cut off by a pair of lips landing on his.

* * *

**A/N: Here is some Nuna goodness for you. I'm sorry it's short, but I'm going to try to make the next one longer. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. Be sure to give me a review if you want. They make me laugh and want to write for you guys. I really appreciate your feedback.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Real

**A/N: Hey guys! I managed to update quicker this time, as promised. Unfortunately, this chapter isn't as long as the last one, but that's okay. Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites I got for this story last time I updated. It truly amazes me how much you guys like this story.**

* * *

"Your plan _would_ be absolutely brilliant if I hadn't already thought of it." Draco drawled, bringing the glass of firewhiskey to his lips.

"If you had already thought of it, why are you and Granger still avoiding each other like the plague?" Blaise asked, quirking an eyebrow at his friend.

"Because Felix Felicis is what got me into this mess in the first place." He replied, his voice raising a little.

"You mean you..." Blaise started, but trailed off. "Bloody idiot. You mean to tell me you used Felix Felicis to start something with Granger?"

"Well, when you say it _that_ way-"

"It doesn't matter what way you say it. It's still going to sound like something only a complete tosser would do." Blaise interrupted, shaking his head in disappointment. "I thought you would be cleverer than this, mate. Totally uncreative."

"Oi, you were just telling me about how I should use it to get her back." Draco protested.

"I didn't think you'd take me seriously! I thought you'd be smart enough to come up with some sort of romantic gesture to win her over." He defended. "Besides, I figured you were just being your usual idiot self and she got angry. All the Felix would have done was give you the right things to say. I wasn't aware you cheated to win her over and her attraction to you expired."

"Her attraction didn't expire!" Draco objected. "I didn't use much. She still acted on her own feelings. She just..."

"Remembered you're an annoying prat?" Blaise suggested.

"Oh, haha." He glared at Blaise in annoyance. "I thought you were supposed to be helping me."

"I just can't believe you were so lazy." Blaise berated. "Hell, this is something a Gryffindor would pull."

"Oh shut it." Draco grumbled bitterly. "All I wanted to do was mess with her a bit. She was just so... fun when she didn't hate me. She wasn't a boring swot like I'd thought she was."

Blaise looked at him intently. "That is so cliche." He deadpanned. "You're making me want to puke, mate."

"You're an arse." said Draco, shaking his head. "I hope you know that."

"And yet, Hermione still likes me more than you right now." said Blaise.

"Right. How am I going to fix this?" He asked.

"I'm not solving your problems for you." Blaise said.

"But-"

"No."

"You were ready to help me earlier." Draco whined.

"That was only because I was tired of watching you sulk." said Blaise indignantly.

"I was _not_ sulking. Malfoys _do not sulk_." Draco protested.

"Well, whatever you've been doing, I think you've made the wall uncomfortable with all the sorrowful staring you've done at it." retorted Blaise.

"Shut up."

"Fine, I guess I _won't_ help you with your Granger problem, then." said Blaise, moving to get up from his spot next to Draco. "Pity since we're _such_ great friends now."

"No, please." said Draco, scrambling up and pouncing toward his friend.

"Keep your knickers on." said Blaise. "You really shouldn't need my help. It's quite simple, really."

"Well, since it's _so_ simple, why don't you just tell me?" said Draco.

"You know, I_ could_," said Blaise, making his friend look at him hopefully, "but watching you struggle is so much more fun."

Draco frowned, watching his housemate turn away from him.

"Tosser."

"What are friends for?"

* * *

The kiss was light. Luna's lips were soft and gentle. Neville could hardly feel them push against his. He almost didn't believe they were really there, but there was no denying it. Luna Lovegood was kissing him. _Him. _Neville Longbottom.

The kiss was quick. It only lasted for a single moment, but everything seemed to move in slow motion for Neville. He barely managed to properly kiss back before she pulled away.

This was his first kiss. It took a few seconds before Neville opened his eyes again, his mind buzzing. He couldn't help but want more as soon as he felt the faint warmth of her lips leave him.

He glanced at her shyly.

She smiled back brightly, not at all sheepish. She was never shy about anything. Ever. Always just warm and dreamy.

He felt the violent pounding of his heart against his ribcage resonate throughout his body. He was almost sure she could hear it.

Then, strangely enough, she began to laugh.

Neville's face contorted into an expression of confusion, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing," She continued to giggle. It sounded like a bell, tinkling away. "It's just that..."

"What?" asked Neville, beginning to panic.

"I forgot to say " She said, bursting into more laughter.

In a way she was unapologetic. She never denied who she was. She was always Luna. Never shifting to anyone else's needs. Whoever wanted her to be anything different than she was could go screw themselves. Even if she was a little odd sometimes, she was real. That's what made her different from the rest; a breath of fresh air among a cloud of smoke. She was irrevocably and unconditionally real. And that was something he'd always liked about her.

* * *

"We've got to go to Quidditch practice, but we'll see you later, Mione." Ron said as he and Harry walked away from her.

"Bye Hermione." Harry called.

"Bye." She replied softly.

Hermione continued down the corridor, alone with her thoughts.

These were the best and most dangerous moments for her. On one hand, she could finally think clearly without constantly being yanked out by her friends' chatter, but on the other, no one can pull her out if she delves too deep and gets lost in a state of overthinking.

Hermione seemed to do that a lot as of late. Overthink. Weaving an intricate web of thoughts as they race through her brain with thread made of far out intricacies. The art of creating problems that don't exist. To think about something too much… No matter what way she put it, she was still… overthinking.

But before she could get too into her thoughts, she suddenly rammed into something… or rather someone.

"Woah there, Granger." A low voice gasped as her forehead slammed into their chest and her books fell to the ground.

"Merlin, I'm sorry." Hermione exclaimed, looking up and hitting her head on their chin.

"Ow." They said simultaneously, rubbing their respective injuries.

"Are you alright?"

She still couldn't see who it was, but she thought she had a pretty good idea of their identity.

* * *

**A/N: And here we have a little bit of a cliffhanger. This chapter was a bit of a filler leading up to the next one, but chapter 13 will be better. Thanks again to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. I especially love SomeoneKnew's reviews. I don't even know why, but she just makes me laugh. I love all of the feedback you guys give and I hope to keep receiving it as I continue this story. See you in the next one.**


	13. Chapter 13 - Karma

**A/N: Hey, guys! It's been awhile. I didn't really know what to do with this chapter, but here you go. I'm not really quite sure what I'm doing with this anymore, but I have some idea, so stay tuned!**

* * *

The corridor was teeming with people as Blaise lazily strolled through it, his hands carefully placed in his trouser pockets. Students gossiped to each other about how so-and-so saw two sixth years sneaking out of the Room of Requirement a few days ago. Some girls were even fawning over him as he walked by, hands cupped to their mouths, and oh merlin do you think he sees us? This inane chatter was, however, drowned out by Blaise's own buzzing thoughts.

What the hell was Malfoy thinking?

Draco and Hermione hadn't spoken in weeks and he hasn't so much as made an effort to reach out to her. Instead, he just sits in their dorm and broods. The least he could do was apologize. He supposedly had an idea the night they fell out, but he didn't seem to be following through with it. Instead, Draco just asks _him_ to solve his problems. Like _that_ will fix anything.

Blaise sighed. His friends were such idiots.

As he continued strutting down the hallway, Blaise spied the bushy haired Gryffindor from the corner of his eye, but as soon as he shifted his attention to her, she rammed right into him.

"Woah there, Granger." He gasped, surprised as her forehead slammed into his chest and her books fell to the ground.

"Merlin, I'm sorry." Hermione exclaimed, looking up and hitting her head on Blaise's chin.

"Ow." They said simultaneously, rubbing their respective injuries.

"Are you alright?" He asked, chuckling and holding his jaw.

"Fine," She replied, dashing to collect her books. "Sorry again."

"It's alright." He assured her, bending down to help, but she was already about to scurry off again. He grabbed her arm as she started to bustle away, twirling her back toward him. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem… tense."

"As I said before, I'm fine." She insisted, turning to walk away again.

Blaise tugged on her arm again, tethering her to her spot. "Talked to Draco lately?"

Every muscle in her body tensed and the color left her face. "Huh? No. Why?"

"You guys _need_ to talk." He rephrased, thinking of the ordeal that ended their brief… could it even be called a relationship?

"Why?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

"Well, let's see. He's been moping around in the common room like a kicked puppy ever since you dumped him and now he's turned into an emotionless lug of angst." Blaise explained, hoping she'd know what he meant.

"I didn't _dump_ him-" She started but cut herself off. "How do you even_ know_ about that?"

"I'm surprised half the castle didn't hear your little screaming match in the corridors. Besides, you could cut the tension between you guys with a butter knife if you tried." Blaise deadpanned, feigning disinterest.

Her cheeks reddened, "It was nothing. He's just a prat is all."

"Sure…" Blaise said, winking at her knowingly. "I'll let you be off then if it's _nothing_. I'll go ahead and tell him to go along with to Astoria's desperate attempts to get him to date her. It's gotten to the point where it's just _sad_, but since it's _nothing_, I'm sure Draco won't have any qualms about finally putting her out of her misery."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed clearly without meaning to.

"Oh, he's been trying to fend off Daphne Greengrass's sister for a few weeks now and I had a feeling it was because of you, but since whatever happened was _nothing_. I'll tell him to go ahead." He explained innocently.

"Oh, well, good for him then." She mumbled, clutching her books tightly to her chest. He noticed her knuckles had gone white. "If you'll excuse me."

"Oh, I'm not done with you yet." Blaise chuckled reining her back in again.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked, growing impatient.

"A favor."

"What kind of favor?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows in suspicion.

"A _reasonable_ favor." He replied vaguely.

"_Details_ would be nice, Blaise." The lioness drawled, having grown tired of his games.

"Careful, Granger, you almost sounded like a Slytherin for a second." Blaise warned, smirking.

"Just because I'm Gryffindor, doesn't mean I can't be clever." Hermione reminded him.

"Of _course_ it does."

* * *

"I'm sure she's fine, Ron." Harry said for the third time. Ron refused to stop worrying about Hermione's distance as of late. She seemed to be drifting away again and neither of them liked it all, but, in Hermione's absence, Harry had to be the rational one.

"D'you think, maybe she's sick?" Ron continued, slipping into his Quidditch robes.

"She's probably just stressed about exams. They're only four months away, you know." Harry replied, imitating her shrill voice.

"So you agree there's something wrong here." Ron concluded, digging through his discarded robes for his keeper's helmet.

"_No_, Ron. She's _perfectly_ fine." He insisted, pushing his glasses up before they slipped.

"Well, come on, Harry. She's _Hermione_. She's never _perfectly fine_." Ron pressed.

"Yes she is." Harry dismissed. "Now focus on dressing yourself, you've put your chest plate on backwards."

"Oh, bloody hell." He grumbled, hurriedly undoing the straps that stretched across his torso instead of his back.

"Are you sure you're not the one who isn't 'perfectly fine?'" Harry asked, chuckling at the scowl that formed on his friend's face as his ears flushed. "I have half a mind to put you back in the hospital wing and call McLaggen back in, honestly."

"Oh, shut up." Ron retorted. "Everyone knows you can't stand him anyway… 'cept maybe him."

"Yeah, you're right." Harry admitted. "Maybe I'll convince Seamus to substitute for you."

"Bugger off."

* * *

Luna couldn't believe her boldness. She _actually_ plucked up the courage to _kiss_ Neville. It almost seemed like a dream.

But it _wasn't_. She was fully conscious.

So conscious that she was skipping down the hallway a few paces in front of the recently kissed boy as they made their way to the Room of Requirement, their usual hangout for Operation Dramione.

They decided stalking Dramione wasn't doing anything and they needed to act.

Luna had a feeling they would finally be able to get them together soon. They just had to bide their time.

But that wasn't her primary concern anymore. She didn't want all of her time spent with Neville to be for this project. She wanted it to be for their blossoming relationship.

_Relationship._

It sounded nice in her head.

Luna smiled as she continued through the corridor, Neville watching from behind.

Everything was going to be perfect.

* * *

It only took Hermione a few moments to realize Blaise never told her the favor he wanted, but by that time, he'd already disappeared into the next corridor.

_Oh well. His loss, I suppose._

Shrugging it off, she continued on her journey to the library. She hadn't been in a while and thought it was long overdue. Exams were in _four months_.

With all of this Malfoy drama Hermione had become distracted from her studies. She just couldn't think straight with all of it in the back of her mind, but she wouldn't let Malfoy have that effect on her any longer.

She decided to move on.

As she set her books on the library table, someone plopped themselves in the seat right next to her. Someone tall and blonde and arrogant and… _ugh_.

Hermione glared at the intruder with utter disgust.

"What do _you_ want?" She snapped scathingly.

"Why so frosty, Granger?" He asked, smirking slightly. "Could it be I make you nervous?"

"More like sick to my stomach." She replied, not missing a beat.

"Oh, how you wound me." He said, placing his hand on his heart with a look of mock pain on his face. "But seriously, you and I should hang out sometime. Maybe we could get on a… first name basis. If you know what I mean."

"No, I don't, nor do I _ever_ want to." She hissed, turning back to her books.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that." He implored, closing the book she just opened.

"Leave me alone." Hermione warned, glaring at him dangerously.

Suddenly, the blonde prat was on the ground howling in pain, receiving a death stare from Madam Pince. It seemed that someone had flipped his chair with him still in it.

Hermione stood from her chair, looking around for her savior as she quickly shoved her books into her bag before Madam Pince could blame her for the disturbance. All she saw was a certain Slytherin glance at her before leaving the library.

She turned to the boy on the ground pitilessly.

"I suppose that's karma, McLaggen."

* * *

**A/N: What? You were surprised that it was McLaggen? Who else could it have _possibly_ been? Come on, guys, Draco's a coward. He isn't brave enough just to go up to Hermione like that. Pfft. Sorry it's a little short, I'm kind of setting up for something big. If you liked this chapter be sure to leave a review and follow. xx**


	14. Chapter 14 - Subtle

**A/N: Hey... I know it's only been a little over a month, but I feel like a horrible person for updating so slowly. I also feel like my chapters are sort of lackluster because I keep putting in these fillers to put off actually doing what I want to do. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this short, but worthwhile chapter.**

* * *

"What were you thinking?" Draco muttered to himself as he exited the library. He had no idea what had come over him. His head was still spinning from what had just happened. All he knew was the moment he saw McLaggen bothering Hermione, it took nearly all of his self-control to stop himself from attacking the other boy.

What was wrong with him? He was acting like a bloody Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake.

He was becoming careless. His usual guard of caution and stiffness was no longer there, and he felt himself carrying his emotions on his sleeve as the days slowly crept on. He was coming apart at the seams, his whole fabric of being tearing right before him, and, even worse, it was all _her_ fault.

It all started the night of the Unity Meeting. That entire night had been a disaster, so he ran off to the Room of Requirement to find a solution. As he walked past that disillusioned spot on the wall three times, the only words that came to mind were, "I need a solution."

Apparently, the Room of Requirement wasn't a big fan of nonspecifics because when he walked in, all that was there was that damned cabinet. He was suddenly terrified. It wasn't like he'd forgotten about his task during all of this. How _could_ he forget? It was like the knife of a guillotine was constantly hanging over his neck, and was dangerously close to dropping. He'd merely been ignoring it for the past few weeks, but the only thing he was able to do at Hogwarts, it seemed, was fix the cabinet and continue his vain attempts of killing Dumbledore.

That was all this year was supposed to be; complete focus on his task. That's all _she_ was supposed to be. He'd only meant to mess with her head so she could get him close to Dumbledore, but when he meant for his actions to be fake, they were real. And that _scared him._ Not only did the most dangerous man in the world _hate him_, but now he was falling for the enemy.

But she didn't _feel_ like the enemy. She was just that girl he'd known since first year. That know-it-all, bushy-haired teacher's pet was suddenly funny and witty and _gorgeous_. He found himself wanting to bump his teeth against her abnormally large ones as he kissed her senseless and tangle every single one of his slender fingers in her ferocious mane of hair just like she did that night, and that was _terrifying_.

The girl he had so wholly hated with all of his being was tearing him apart, making him question his own morals, making him... want to change, to make up for his horrible behavior towards her in the past years. Worse yet, he knew she'd done this to him before, back when they'd been friends in first and second year. he should have known better than to try anything with her. She'd always have that effect on him, no matter the circumstances.

But somehow he still didn't regret what had happened between then. He just wished he hadn't been such a prat to her.

She deserved better than him. He could never do right by her. He'd just mess it up if he ever got another chance. She didn't want him. That's what he told himself every time he saw those brown doe eyes looking at him across the room. It became a chant, a mantra to stop himself from running across the Great Hall and kissing her, putting every ounce of the remorse and misery he felt into his utter _worship_ of her lips.

Seeing her look over at him with that look of caring worry as she noticed the dark circles forming under his eyes and his steadily paling complexion never got easier. He still hated seeing her look at him that way. He wanted more than anything to be hers, to tell everyone who said it was wrong to go hang, but he couldn't.

He was never brave, not like her. He was a coward, a bitter snake hiding in the shadows, drowning in a sea of his own self-pity with no one to save him.

Maybe he deserved to die. After all the pain he'd caused, he wouldn't be surprised if that was the only right option. The dark lord — Draco cursed himself for not being able to say the name — would never allow that though. No, that _bastard_ would make sure he lived so he could feel the guilt and agony of living, while his whole family was _dead_ because _he_ could never do anything right. Even so, he wasn't sure if he was brave enough to die for the sake of others anyway.

He absolutely _loathed_ his cowardice, but it wasn't like he was brave enough to overcome it. That's the thing about being a coward. No matter what you can never be anything more than a pathetic little sissy who cries in the corner while all the heroes fight their battles before your very eyes. No matter how much you want — or need — to change, you _never can_. You'll always choose whatever benefits you the most, no matter who it hurts.

And that was why he _couldn't_ be with her. All he would do is hurt her. Just like he did to every other person who loved him.

So as he walked past that spot he'd grown to hate, he couldn't help but think about her and what she'd say if she knew what he was doing.

* * *

"Spill," Luna said, banging her fist on the table. Cormac had left the library with one of his friends, who was trying really hard to contain his chuckles at the scene that had gone down in front of him, and a very sharp parting glare from Madam Pince. This allowed Luna to pounce on this perfect Operation Dramione moment.

"Spill what?" Hermione asked as she flipped the pages of the huge book in front of her, trying to find where she'd been before Cormac closed it. She couldn't help but give a little huff of disdain as she about that absolute... arse.

"The beans. What just happened?" Luna asked, waving her hands for emphasis. Sure, she'd been planning on leaving Operation Dramione alone for a while, but she couldn't just pass this up.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione replied, refusing to look up from her book. She wasn't quite sure what had happened herself. One minute she was being hassled by McLaggen and the next Draco was pulling his chair out from under him with that cheeky little smirk on his face. She shook her head, stifling a smile. The looks on both of their faces still made her laugh.

"Oh really? I guess I'll just go ask Harry what's going on between you and Draco then." Luna said nonchalantly, unintentionally blackmailing her. "Since it's nothing out of the ordinary, I'm sure he'll be able to explain it to me."

"Fine." Hermione conceded, finally looking up from the huge pages of the book. "McLaggen was hitting on me and Malfoy stepped in and helped me out. That's it."

It was most of the truth. Technically she wasn't lying.

"Why would he do that?" Luna asked, raising a blonde eyebrow as she cocker her head to the side. "I thought you hated each other. Well, minus your obvious crush on him."

"I don't know." Hermione answered, glaring at Luna for that last comment. "And, by the way, it's not obvious. I am _very_ subtle!"

"Oh sorry. I forgot you're still living in denial." Luna apologised sincerely. "How are the wrackspurts treating you?"

"I'm not in denial either!" Hermione continued, becoming annoyed. "And they're treating me just fine… I think."

"I didn't mean to upset you, Hermione. I'm just not used to dealing with people who are so out of touch with their feelings." Luna said, trying to stop her friend from being angry with her. "I'm trying my best to help."

Hermione closed her eyes, swallowing her pride and growing irritation. "Thank you, Luna. I'm grateful for your continued efforts to help, but I honestly don't need it."

Luna was taken aback. Didn't need it? She needed her more than ever now that her relationship with Draco was finally progressing. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I can manage my business with Draco just fine by myself." Hermione explained. "Besides, it seems like you have some of your own to take care of with Neville."

She didn't know what to say. Hermione was right, of course. What she'd been doing was meddlesome and wrong, but she'd just wanted to help. Luna knew it was none of her business, but she thought Hermione could do Draco some good in his otherwise dark and dreary life.

"I understand." Luna responded after a few moments of thoughtful silence. "I apologize if I came off as intrusive."

Hermione smiled warmly, squeezing her hand that was lying limply on the table, "I'll see you later, Luna."

"Bye, Hermione." Luna said dreamily as she nearly floated out of the library. Though she was still stunned, Luna's mind could only think about one thing.

_Operation Dramione was off_.

* * *

"What do you mean there's no pudding?" Harry's voice rang out from the Gryffindor table as the school started dinner.

"It'll probably be there for dessert," Ginny explained. "The house elves don't want you to spoil your appetite. Besides you've had it with _everything_ all week."

"But it's necessary for every meal!" Harry protested, going a little red in the face with his sheer, fiery passion.

A disgruntled "No, it's not!" could be heard further down the table from Parvati Patil as she huffed angrily.

The young Potter merely stuck his tongue out at her, turning back to his group of friends, "Whatever. Pudding can wait, I suppose. I _have_ had it with every meal for the past week."

"_Anyway_," Ron started as Ginny made a noise of indignance. "Can you believe Malfoy?"

Hermione, who'd been tuning out the whole conversation until this point, couldn't help but perk up at the mention of his name. "What about Malfoy?" She asked, not even trying to sound aloof.

Lucky for her, Ron didn't seem to notice.

"The little git has been skipping his practices. Feels like he's going to skip the game." Ron explained, biting into a bread roll. "'Hinks 'e can do whateffer 'e wants de toffer."

"He's probably off doing tasks for Voldemort." Harry added.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, slightly outraged.

"Harry's convinced Malfoy's joined the Death Eaters." Ron answered. "Just ignore him."

"That's ridiculous, Harry." Hermione said, scrunching her nose at the idea. "He would never do such a thing."

"Why not? His whole family's in on it. What stops him from doing it?" Harry asked.

"He's _sixteen._ Voldemort doesn't work with amateurs." Hermione replied. "Besides, I don't think he'd do that sort of thing. He knows better."

"Since when was Malfoy such a saint?" Ron asked. "I mean, I think what Harry's spouting's mental, but I wouldn't be surprised if he got caught up in that stuff later on."

Hermione internally cursed her preemptive lack of subtlety.

"It's not that he's such a good person. More like he's not stupid." Hermione explained, hoping she sounded convincing. "He knows it would be dangerous to join Voldemort even if he wanted a sixteen-year-old student as one of his underlings. He'd constantly have to do whatever Voldemort tasked him with and keep up with his schoolwork. Even if he's second best in class, he wouldn't be able to do it."

"Mione has a point, Harry." Ron agreed, grabbing a chicken leg.

"I still think the ferret's up to something." Harry grumbled.

"You're just bitter because they didn't put out the pudding." Ginny teased as he crossed his arms and glared at her.

The conversation continued, moving on to another mundane subject with few notable interactions. Hermione just nodded along, smiling and laughing at the appropriate moments; everything going in one ear and out the other. She just couldn't focus after Harry's revealed theory about Malfoy.

Well, there was no way… _obviously_. She said it herself, Draco's not stupid. He wouldn't do it. She knew that — or she hoped she knew, at least.

Still, the mere thought of the dark mark tainting his pale forearm made her heart ache.

_He's not stupid_, she told herself. _You're being ridiculous_.

What would he say if she asked?

* * *

**A/N: Ooooooooh things are going down! Okay, I swear Neville and Luna stuff _will_ happen. I promise! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and if you did, I'd appreciate it if you gave it a review. They really help me want to write for you guys. You're all really great though, so I probably don't even have to do this annoying self promotion. So on that note, I'll see you nerds in the next chapter!**


End file.
